


ADMISSION TO COLLEGE BY 
CERTIFICATE 



BY 
JOSEPH LINDSEY HENDERSON, M.A. 



Submitted in Partial fulfillment of the require- 
ments for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 
in the Faculty of Philosophy,Columbia University 



PUBLISHED BY 

®?arlfera (UsAh^t, (Solttmbia InlurrBttg 
NEW YORK CITY 

1912 



U y3^€>^ 



ADMISSION TO COLLEGE BY 
CERTIFICATE 



BY 
JOSEPH LINDSEY HENDERSON, M.A. 



Submitted in Partial fulfillment of the require- 
ments for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 
in the Faculty of Philosophy,Columbia University 



PUBLISHED BY 

Q^iea(l|?rfl OlnU^g?, (Enlnmbia HlnittvrBttg 
NEWYORKfCITY 

1912 



.4 



,•.^■ 



'^'^^C 



Copyright, 1912, by Joseph Lindsey Henderson 



JUL - ;j„^ 



TO MY WIFE 



PREFACE 

The study here presented originated in the author's own ex- 
perience. As Visitor of Schools and member of the Faculty 
of the University of Texas for some years, the writer has been 
called upon to assist in the adjustment and administration of 
entrance requirements. When information was desired concern- 
ing the practices relative to admission to college by certificate in 
other states, it was ascertained that such knowledge could only be 
obtained by personal correspondence with representatives of the 
different institutions. No general compilation and interpretation 
of the various methods used had been made. In response to the 
local need a large amount of concrete material was collected ; the 
arrangement and interpretation of the more important part of the 
material thus gathered with other matter secured by visitation to 
various state universities may be found in this treatise. 

A personal acknowledgment of all services rendered to the 
author is impossible. Hundreds of letters have been received; 
the associations and work with colleagues have clarified points 
and modified the author's views. The services rendered by the 
officials of state universities in opening their minutes to full in- 
spection were invaluable. For such favors the author's in- 
debtedness can only be admitted ; it can not be liquidated. Each 
individual who has assisted must consider that he has joined 
in an effort to render some assistance in solving the general 
problem of admission to college by certificate. 

Four names are gladly accredited with personal acknowledg- 
ments. To the late Dean F. W. Moore, of Vanderbilt Univer- 
sity, with whom the author collaborated in a study of the litera- 
ture bearing upon the problem, acknowledgments are made here 
and elsewhere. 

The writer is indebted to Dr. Henry Suzzallo and Dr. Paul 
Monroe, both of Teachers College, for valuable assistance; to 
the former for suggestions concerning the general survey of the 
field, and to the latter for aid in connection with the historical 
part of the study. To Dr. George D. Strayer, of Teachers Col- 



vi Preface 

lege, under whose immediate supervision the study has been 
formulated, the author owes a debt of gratitude for kindly sym- 
pathy and generous assistance. J, L. H. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER I 

Introduction 

PAGE 

1. The Problem 2 

2. Related Studies 3 

3. Sources and Material Used 5 

4. Type Systems , 6 

5. Outside Aid to the System 7 

6. Divisions of the Study 8 

CHAPTER II 

Educational Conditions in the United States About 1870 

1. Table I : Data Concerning All State or Territorial Universities 

Founded and Partially or Fully Organized by 1870 14 

2. Supplement to Table 1 15 

3. Observations based on Table I and its Supplement 18 

4. Table II: Instructors and Students in State Universities in 

1870 22 

5. Observations based on Table II 22 

6. Table III : Instructors and Students in Other than State Uni- 

versities in 1870 25 

7. Observations based on Table III 25 

8. Table IV: Instructors and Students in Colleges of States Not 

Having State Universities in 1870 27 

9. Observations based on Table IV 27 

10. Table V: Colleges Reporting only Academic Students in 1870. 28 

11. Observations based on Table V 28 

12. Table VI: Primary and Secondary School Systems in the 

Southern Division of the United States about 1870 30 

13. Observations based on Table VI 31 

14. Table VII : Primary and Secondary School Systems in the 

Mountain and Pacific Division of the United States about 

1870 33 

15. Observations based on Table VII 34 

16. Table VIII: Primary and Secondary School Systems in the 

Middle West Division of the United States about 1870 35 

17. Observations based on Table VIII 35 

18. Table IX: Primary and Secondary School Systems in the 

Northeastern Division of the United States until 1870 36 



Contents 



PAGE 

19. Observations based on Table IX 36 

20. No Admission to Early American Colleges by Certificate and 

Reasons Why 38 

21. Chapter Summary 40 



CHAPTER III 

The Origin and Evolution of the System 

I- Origin , 45 

2. Recapitulation 49 

3. Evolution of the System 50 

4. First Decade of the Certificating System 50 

5. Second Decade of the Certificating System 60 

6. Third Decade of the Certificating System 68 

7. Fourth Decade of the Certificating System 76 

8. Table X : Data Concerning Certification in Nine State Uni- 

versities 82 

9. Observations based on Table X 82 

ID. Table XI : Dates of First Requirement or Acceptance of Sub- 
jects for Admission by Nine State Universities 85 

1 1. Observations based on Table XI 85 

12. Table XII: Subjects Accepted for Entrance by Nine State 

Universities Distributed by Decades 88 

13. Observations based on Table XII 88 

14. Table XIII: Enrollment Compared w^ith Numbers of Schools 

Accredited by Nine State Universities 91 

15. Observations based on Table XIII 91 

16. Chapter Summary 92 



CHAPTER IV 

Present Day Conditions of Admission to College by Certificate in 
THE United States (1911) 

1. Type One: The New England College Entrance Certificate 

Board 100 

2. Type Two : Control of Inspection and Selection of Accredited 

Schools Located in a State Board 102 

3. Type Three: Schools Under Control of High School Board 

Employing Special Inspectors 104 

4. Type Four: Schools Accredited by a State Association of 

Colleges 108 

5. Type Five : Control Lodged in State Universities 109 

6. Type Six : Control Through State Departments m 

7. Type Seven : Joint Control by State University and State De- 

partment of Education 112 



Contents ix 

8. Special Types : page 

(a) The Vanderbilt Plan 113 

(b) The Columbia Plan 113 

(c) The Harvard Plan 114 

(d) The Chicago Plan 116 

9. District Types : Commission Control 116 

10. A Step Toward a National System 118 

11. Methods Used in Testing Schools: 

(a) Reports 118 

(b) Inspection 119 

(c) Examination of High School Pupils 120 

(d) Records of Students in College 121 

12. Form, Content and Acceptance of Certificates 123 

13. Table XIV: Requirements for Admission to B.A. and B.S. 

Courses of Thirty-Nine State Universities, in igii 126 

14. Observations based on Table XIV 126 

15. Observations based on Table XV 130 

16. Table XV: Maximum of Credits in Different Subjects Al- 

lowed for Entrance by Thirty-Nine State Universities, in 

1911 132 

17. Table XVI: Subjects Credited for Admission by Thirty- Nine 

State Universities with Numbers of Institutions Accepting 

each 134 

18. Observations based on Table XVI 135 

19. Legal Enactment and Certification 135 

20. Chapter Summary 137 

CHAPTER V 

Evaluations and Conclusions 

1. Table XVII : Data Concerning the Failures of Students Ad- 

mitted to New England Colleges by Examination and Cer- 
tificate 140 

2. Table XVIII: Numbers of Students and Percentages of 

Work Done in Five Grades of Scholarship by Freshmen, 
in the University of California, Coming from the State 
High Schools 141 

3. Table XIX: Records of Certificated and Examined Students 

in the University of Michigan 144 

4. The Influence of Certification upon College Admission Re- 

quirements 146 

5. Table XX: Subjects Required or Accepted by Harvard, Co- 

lumbia, Yale and Princeton Universities, in 1511 147 

6. The Influence of Certification upon Methods of Teaching 148 

7. Evaluations of Ten Types of Certificating' Systems: 

(a) The New England College Entrance Certificate 

Board 151 



Contents 



PAGE 

(b) Control by State Board of Education 152 

(c) The Selection of Certificating Schools by a High 

School Board 156 

(d) Control of Certification through State Associations 

of Colleges 158 

(e) The Selection of Certificating Schools through 

State Universities 159 

(f) Control of Certification through State Depart- 

ments 160 

(g) Joint Control of Certification through State Uni- 

versities and State Departments 163 

(h) Special Methods of Control by Individual Insti- 
tutions 164 

(i) Control through District Commissions 165 

(j) A National System Suggested 165 

8. Final Conclusions 166 

Bibliography 1 70 



ADMISSION TO COLLEGE BY CERTIFICATE 

CHAPTER I 

INTRODUCTION 

No student of educational administration will hesitate to 
admit that the system of "Admission to College by Certificate " 
has been, is, and will continue to be, an educational problem of 
the gravest practical importance. The task here undertaken 
will be to make an examination of the origin, development, and 
present status of the certificating system and to set forth such 
evaluations and conclusions as the data may seem to justify. 

In the first place, it is proposed to show that admission to 
college by certificate did not have its origin in chance device, but 
that it was a natural and logical outgrowth of educational con- 
ditions ; and that the conditions which called into existence the 
new system were the results of changes in the form of educa- 
tional institutions. To understand the immediate conditions 
which gave rise to the problem, it is necessary to trace the rise 
and development of state universities and state free school 
systems. 

The significance of the problem varies greatly with the view- 
point taken. Examined from the standpoint of any college want- 
ing well-prepared students and not having in mind the welfare 
of the secondary school, the whole question presents different 
aspects from those seen by institutions wanting any kind of stu- 
dents and not caring for the welfare of the lower schools. The 
first class of colleges indicated is apt to look upon the system 
with misgivings ; the latter class will view the plan with selfish 
favor. Another type of colleges accepts the graduates of the 
preparatory schools and makes the most of them, but disclaims 
any interest or responsibility in their previous training. Still 
another group of higher institutions looks upon the secondary 
schools as a part of its own system and does all in its power 
to assist the lower schools in their effort toward self-develop- 



2 Admission to College by Certificate 

ment. It is believed that the last class of higher institutions 
has succeeded best with the plan of admission to college by cer- 
tificate. 

Along with the four attitudes of colleges toward the high 
schools mentioned, there may be as many dispositions mani- 
fested by the schools toward the colleges. Furthermore, dif- 
ferent types of schools will vary in their dispositions toward any 
one class of colleges. The best private and public schools, de- 
siring to build up strong local institutions, will look upon the 
high grade indifferent college with more respect than upon a low 
grade selfish college which accepts any kind of students on cer- 
tificate. The best schools will largely disregard the indifferent 
college which accepts their graduates without criticism or sug- 
gestion, but will gladly cooperate with the high grade institu- 
tions which show a genuine interest in the development of all 
parts of the system. The inferior secondary schools will assume 
a patronizing, an indifferent, an antagonistic or a cooperative 
disposition determined largely by the attitude of the college 
with which they are dealing. 

The views set forth by articles and addresses on the question 
of certification have been based upon one or more of the different 
standpoints held by the different types of colleges and secondary 
schools suggested. In this study the standpoints of mutually 
sympathetic and cooperative higher and lower efficient institu- 
tions will be held in view; for, it is believed that only under 
such conditions can admission to college by certificate ever be- 
come satisfactory. 

The Problem 

As long as the question of admission to college by certificate 
is looked upon merely as the formal transfer of individuals 
from one institution to another, and no more, just so long will 
the system be adjudged unsatisfactory. The adoption of the 
system means, usually, the transfer of responsibility for deter- 
mining standards from the higher to the lower part of the 
system. The lower part, however willing it may be, is not pre- 
pared to bear the burden alone. The college cannot afford to 
shift the control of its own standards to high schools unless 
it is willing to assist the schools in maintaining those standards. 



Introduction 3 

The problem of certification, in its final analysis, becomes a 
question of sane, sympathetic cooperation. 

From the standpoints suggested,: "Admission to College by 
Certificate " becomes a problem which may be stated as follows : 

How May the Adequate Preparation and Transfer of a 
Select Class from One Part of a Democratic Educational 
System to a Higher Part be Best Accomplished When 
the Welfare and Interest of Every Phase of the Entire 
System is Considered? The Problem May be Resolved Into 
the Following Factors: (i) The Highly Democratic, 
Differentiated and Varying Conditions and Demands of 
the Lower Part of the System ; (2) The Responsibility 
OF Protecting the Standards of the Schools and Colleges; 
AND (3) The Legitimate and Mutual Assistance and Sup- 
port Which the Two Parts of the System Should Render 
to Each Other. 

Related Studies 

Dr. E. C. Broome in his study of " College Admission Re- 
quirements "^ gives some facts and draws certain conclusions 
concerning the "Accrediting System." He does not attempt to 
do more than raise some of the questions involved. His atti- 
tude toward the system, although some merits are admitted, is, 
on the whole, adverse. He concludes : "As a method for gen- 
eral adoption, however, the diploma system cannot be safely 
recommended. In the first place, there are too many weak col- 
leges in the United States which will not turn away an applicant 
for admission under any considerations. Secondly, there is no 
homogeneity among our secondary schools. Thirdly, high- 
school teachers need be neither scholars nor college graduates, 
nor are they appointed with sufficient care."^ The writer has 
no disposition to claim that the conditions as set forth do not 
exist. The betterment of these conditions constitutes our present 
and future work. Dr. Broome further states that when certain 
desirable changes are made, " then admission to college by di- 
ploma as a general policy will be both safe and desirable."^ His 

^A Historical and Critical Discussion of College Admission Require- 
ments, pp. I 16-125. 
^Ibid., p. 124. 
^ Ibid., p. 125. 



4 Admission to College by Certificate 

only suggestion for the realization of the desirable changes, how- 
ever, is the provision of a national board of inspectors for 
secondaiy schools. The plan suggested would place over the 
schools external authority, or possibly insert, between the two 
parts of systems, factors which would tend to keep them asunder 
rather than draw them together by sympathetic ties. 

Part V of the Fourth Annual Report of The Carnegie Foun- 
dation for the Advancement of Teaching deals with material 
bearing upon the problem under consideration. It is plainly the 
purpose of the Foundation, however, to set forth conditions 
rather than to propose detailed solutions of the problems sug- 
gested. Under the heading, "Articulation of High School and 
College," the following sentences occur : " The effort to shape 
our detached educational agencies into a system, the parts of 
which support and demand each other, and simultaneously to 
bring the whole into a more fruitful relation with the problems 
and strivings of contemporary life, has latterly resulted in the 

consciousness of maladjustment at various points 

But nowhere else is there just now such marked discomfort as 
at the junction between high school and college. The struggle 
to perfect articulation at that point is perhaps the most urgent 
of the problems in readjustment demanded by a comprehensive 
educational policy."* One of the ideas here expressed, which 
has been kept in mind in the following study, is that the parts 
of the system should " support and demand each other." 

No attempt is made in this introduction to summarize the 
articles which have been written concerning the theme of cer- 
tification. Many of the utterances have been mere matters of 
opinion, others have been based upon conditions which no 
longer exist and do not seem sufifiiciently valuable to justify a re- 
view, while still others of real value will be referred to and ac- 
credited when used in the different parts of the study. 

The most comprehensive bibliography of the literature bear- 
ing upon the question, published to date, was prepared by the 
late Dean Frederick W. Moore, of Vanderbilt University, and 
the writer, and appeared in the Proceedings of the Association 
of Colleges and Preparatory Schools of the Southern States, 

* Fourth Ann. Rept. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of 
Teaching, p. 135. 



Introduction 5 

for 1910, under the title, " The Administration of the Certificat- 
ing System of Admission into College." The references and the 
syllabus were written by Dean Moore, while the exhibits and 
queries were prepared by the author of this study. 

Sources and Material Used 

After spending almost four years in examining the literature 
published in general educational works, periodicals, proceedings 
of various associations, and the few special studies bearing upon 
admission to college by certificate, the conclusion was reached 
that while some service might be rendered by organizing the 
material found in the different writings, a study based upon 
sources would be more valuable. Many of the articles and dis- 
cussions published were based upon general observation and 
opinion, as already suggested, without the support of records, 
and hence the conclusions were little more than expressions of 
popular belief. In this study an attempt has been made to 
select sources, as far as possible, of unqestionable reliability. 
The effort was not, at all times, absolutely successful. Educa- 
tional records for the entire United States had not been pub- 
lished previous to 1870. That year, the Bureau of Education 
published its first statistical report. Such records as were in 
existence previous to that time were only to be found in state 
reports. The first statistical report of the National Bureau was 
compiled in a most painstaking manner. Official reports were 
supplemented by private correspondence. 

For the historical part of this study dealing with conditions 
previous to the introduction of certification, the catalogues of 
the institutions concerned and the National report of 1870 were 
used. 

The discussion of the evolution of the system has been based 
upon the records of the Governing Boards, the Minutes of 
Faculties, and the contents of catalogues of nine state univer- 
sities covering a period of forty years. To obtain these records 
the writer visited each of the institutions indicated, and copied 
from the records all material bearing upon the question. In the 
main the records were satisfactory ; in some instances they were 
incomplete but not so much so as to interfere materially with 
the work. 



6 Admission to College by Certificate 

While it is true that recorded intentions of Boards and Facul- 
ties are not always executed, they do indicate the crystallized 
plans of organizations and furnish some insight into their evolu- 
tion. The best data for the historical part of the study seemed 
to be the records made by the institutions themselves rather than 
the writings of single individuals. This belief will explain fur- 
ther why the records of bodies are chosen rather than the 
general literature published on the question. 

The data concerning present day conditions are taken from 
the catalogues and other publications of the institutions con- 
cerned. Their reliability is subject to the limitations incident 
to failure in execution, incomplete statement of actual condi- 
tions, and such errors as may occur in their interpretation. By 
the expression, present day conditions, is meant conditions pre- 
vailing in the United States during or at the close of the scholas- 
tic year, 1910-1911. Unless otherwise indicated, the catalogues 
and publications setting forth conditions for that year have 
been used. 

No attempt has been made to cite page references to the 
minutes consulted for the reason that the minutes with few ex- 
ceptions are unpublished; and should they be published in the 
future, the paging would undoubtedly be changed. All of the 
matter used, however, may be verified by date references and 
context. Much of the material has been compiled but the 
sources are evident and may be checked by those who may de- 
sire to do so. Since the catalogues for the scholastic year, 1910- 
191 1, have been used, it has not been thought necessary to give 
page references to the catalogues. 

Type Systems 

When certain progress had been made in the investigation it 
became apparent that the practices by different institutions, in 
the different states and in different sections of the United States, 
could be classified under certain general types. It furthermore 
became evident that two fundamental factors could be used in 
making a type classification. These two factors comprise the 
methods used in selecting the accredited lists of schools and in 
school visita^.ion or inspection. The list of schools may be 



Introduction 7 

selected by a general board, as in New England; by a state 
board, as in Indiana; by the university faculty, or by combina- 
tions or modifications of these methods, as in the several states 
whose systems will be described. Likewise the authority for 
school visitation may be located with the State Department of 
.Education, with the State University, with the State Board, with 
two of these, or personal visitation may be omitted entirely. 
These different types with their modifications will be examined 
and no attempt will be made to give descriptive details concern- 
ing institutions which have adopted types elsewhere explained. 

Outside Aid to the System 

It would be impossible to trace out all of the influences which 
have contributed to the development of any or all of the various 
types of systems. That public sentiment has grown in its favor, 
no one will deny. The schools and the colleges alike should be 
credited with whatever has been achieved. Various educational 
bodies such as local and national associations have also made 
their contributions. Many of these contributions have been in 
the lines of initiation and development of systems. Aside from 
the inspirational influences, certain movements have contributed 
in a material way, though indirectly, in aiding the development 
of the new system. The " Report of the Committee of Ten " 
gave assistance in the formulation of high school courses of 
study and helped to draw the line between college and prepara- 
tory work. The influences of the Carnegie Foundation for the 
Advancement of Teaching caused many institutions to raise 
their entrance requirements and that, at once, brought about a 
great agitation in the colleges and high schools. As a result, in 
many institutions admitting on certificate, improvements in 
methods were made. The General Education Board, by provid- 
ing funds for the employment of inspectors of high schools in 
the southern states, greatly assisted in the articulation of the 
schools and colleges and improved the standards of admission by 
certificate. The influences of any one of the three movements 
named upon the certificating system would constitute a study in 
itself and no attempt will be made to give them a full evaluation 
in this work. 



8 Admission to College by Certificate 

Divisions of the Study 

It has seemed best to divide the study into four parts. The 
first of these will be given to an examination of educational con- 
ditions in the United States leading up to the origin of the certifi- 
cating system; the second will deal with the development of the 
principles which have been woven into the different types of 
systems; in the third part, an effort will be made to set forth 
the different types of systems as they are in operation to-day; 
and the fourth division will be given to an evaluation of condi- 
tions with conclusions and suggestions with reference to the 
further improvement of the various systems now in use. 

In the first part of the study it is disclosed that in early days 
preparatory schools and colleges were so supported, organized 
and" conducted that admission to college by certificate was not 
and could not have been used to advantage. Later, when the 
states began to take control of education, the preparatory and 
collegiate work was done by one institution, but the lower and 
the higher parts of the work were not clearly differentiated and 
there was no need of a formal transfer from one part of the 
system to the other, and hence there was no demand for a cer- 
tificating system. When the states began to develop free public 
high schools it seemed best to separate the preparatory from the 
collegiate work. Since the states were paying for the support 
of both the higher and lower institutions the idea of uniting them 
into two mutually cooperative parts of one system called for 
some link to bind them together. To meet this need the certifi- 
cating system was originated. 

The second part of the study traces, through the minutes of 
nine state universities, the steps taken in the evolution of dif- 
ferent types of systems. The purpose of this chapter is to pro- 
vide a background for the better understanding and interpreta- 
tion of present day conditions. There is no reason why the ex- 
periences of the different states should not become the guiding 
principles of all. This can best happen when the regressive 
as well as the progressive movements are set forth in detail. 
With this service in view, an attempt has been made to search 
out the introduction of new phases in the various systems and 
trace them in their development through a period of forty 
years. 



Introduction 9 

Chapter IV is given to a description of different systems used 
in the United States at the present time. The practices in the 
different states are discussed under certain types. An analysis 
of the different types is made with reference to selection of ac- 
credited lists, control and direction of school visitation, methods 
used in testing schools, regulations for the admission of stu- 
dents, treatment of students and schools failing to meet required 
standards, and means used in bringing about cooperation be- 
tween high school teachers and college instructors. 

In the last chapter an effort is made to evaluate certain fac- 
tors in the different systems with a view to formulating some 
conclusions with reference to the results now obtained. The 
weaknesses as well as the advantages of the various systems are 
discussed, and, finally, suitable types are suggested for adapta- 
tion to different states and to the United States. 



CHAPTER II 

EDUCATIONAL CONDITIONS IN THE UNITED 
STATES ABOUT 1870 

Educational movements and educational institutions evolve 
from social, political, religious, and economic conditions. To 
understand conditions their causes must be studied. It is im- 
portant not only to set forth and analyze the conditions which 
led to a new method of admission to college, but the causes back 
of them also challenge investigation and interpretation. 

The historical part of this study has been divided into two 
divisions since the conditions which preceded the movement 
under consideration were far different from those which gave 
rise to it and accompanied its later development. 

On September 20, 1870, Dr. Henry S. Frieze, Acting Presi- 
dent of the University of Michigan, in his annual report^ of that 
year, suggested mutual cooperation between the University and 
the high schools of the State, the visitation and examination of 
the schools by members of the Faculty, and the admission of 
students to the University by certificate. This date, so far as 
has been ascertained, marked the formal inception of a move- 
ment, in the United States, destined to become a nation-wide 
factor in educational administration. 

Whether President Frieze accidentally stumbled upon a popu- 
lar device for admitting students to college or whether, as a 
sagacious man, he merely voiced an imperative demand of new 
conditions, can be answered only by a careful study of the 
situation which called forth his suggestions. 

Before taking up the more critical part of this chapter, it may 
be advantageous to enumerate some of the more prominent of 
the educational movements closely connected with the period 
under consideration. In 1867, in response to a memoriaP from 
a convention of school superintendents, Congress provided for 

^Ann. Rept. Bd. Reg., 1869-1870; Cat. 1870-71, pp. 62, 63. 

^ U. S. Com. Rept., 1870-71, Vol. 2, p. 5- 

10 



Educational Conditions in United States About i8yo ii 

the organization of a National Department of Education. Later 
this Department was changed to a Bureau and placed in the De- 
partment of Interior. In 1870, the first statistical report 
concerning education in the United States was published. That 
report has been of great service in this study. The Congres- 
sional land grant act of July 2, 1862, providing for a system of 
Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges, became a great factor 
in the organization of state school systems. A general revival 
of learning, following the Civil War and " reconstruction," was 
plainly visible in the organization of free public schools all over 
the United States. It was in this period that state universities 
showed, by original foundation, reorganization, or expansion, 
the most unmistakable marks of a new educational regime. As 
one of the significant signs of the new educational revival, on 
the professional side, it may be noted that the National Teachers 
Association, which had had a more or less precarious existence 
since 1857, was reorganized and rechristened the National Edu- 
cational Association, and held its first regular meeting at St. 
Louis in 1871. 

Not only in the United States but in Europe as well do we 
find conspicuous educational happenings falling within this 
period. In regard to movements in England we quote the fol- 
lowing from Graham Balfour: "At last in 1870, in the first 
Ministry of Mr. Gladstone, a Government Bill for England and 
Wales was introduced by the Rt. Hon. W. E. Forster, and after 
numerous modifications was passed by both Houses of Parlia- 
ment. Although considerable additions have been made, only 
five or six sections of the ' Elementary Education Act,' of 1870, 
were repealed before 1902, and it remains the basis of English 
public elementary education today."^ Three fundamental prin- 
ciples underlying public education were first incorporated in 
English school law in this act: "A compulsory local rate (tax), 
a representative local authority and the compulsory attendance 
of children at school."* Previous to this foundation of Govern- 
ment schools, no school failing to provide for the reading of 
the Bible each day could secure aid from the Government. 
Under the new law, " a purely secular school might earn the 

'The Educational Systems of Great Britain and Ireland, p. 18. 
* Ibid., p. 21. 



12 Admission to College by Certificate 

grant without any question."^ School Boards might also, under 
certain conditions, provide for industrial schools.^ In this same 
year, " a Royal Commission on Scientific Instruction was ap- 
pointed, with the Seventh Duke of Devonshire as Chairman."''^ 
England had been working toward popular education for years 
but the Act of 1870 marked the first general crystallization of 
public educational sentiment into law. 

It is germane at this point to read the following from Fred- 
erick Paulsen : " The prominent feature of the last period, be- 
ginning about 1870, was the long struggle of this new secondary 
school for the admittance of its pupils to the university, ending 
with its victory in 1901, when it was officially acknowledged as 
essentially equal in rank to the classical Gymnasium. In 1870 
those who had passed the Leaving Examination at a Real schule 
I Ordnung (real school of the first order) were for the first time 
given access to the university, although only to the philosophical 
faculty, or rather only to one or two of its departments, i.e., 
to mathematics and natural sciences, and to modern languages."^ 

The type of school indicated in this quotation corresponds 
somewhat to the modern American high school. The effort 
to connect it with the Universities was not unlike the movement 
in the United States under consideration. 

In order to make the historical part of this study more intel- 
ligible, from the beginning, the following fundamental theses are 
announced in general outline: 

1. Admission to college by certificate presumes two separate 
educational systems ; or, two separate and well-defined parts of 
one and the same system. 

2. One of the two systems, or one of the two parts of the 
same system, is higher than the other ; and the higher system, or 
part, rests upon the lower as a basis. 

3. It is claimed that in the earlier days of the American col- 
leges there were two separate and distinct systems, that these 
two systems were entirely independent of each other, and hence 
there was no system of admission from one to the other by 
certificate. 



^ The; Educational Systems of Great Britain and Ireland, p. 22. 

"Ibid., p. 58. 

''Ibid., p. 56. 

* German Education, Past and Present, Tr. by Lorentz, p. 215. 



Educational Conditions in United States About i8yo 13 

4. Later, the two parts were united into one system and ap- 
peared together in the same institution ; but the two parts of the 
institution, the lower and the higher, were so blended together 
that no formal transfer from one to the other was found neces- 
sary. 

5. When state universities and state free school systems were 
first established, they tended to function, for some time, as two 
separate and unrelated systems. 

6. The history of the evolution of the system of admission to 
college by certificate is also the history of an effort to unite two 
separate state systems into two closely related and mutually co- 
operative parts of one system. 

With the above mentioned general propositions in mind the 
reader is directed to a more critical examination of the condi- 
tions of secondary schools and colleges in the United States lead- 
ing up to the pivotal period including the year 1870. 



Admission to College by Certificate 



TABLE II 

Data Concerning All State or Territorial Universities 

Founded and Partially or Fully Organized by 1870 







Dates 


Dates 


Dates 








of 


of 


of 


Dates 


Nos. 


States 


Federal 


Legislative 
Enact- 


Board 


of 






Endow- 


Organiza- 


Openings 






ments 


ments 


tions 









Northeastern Division 




I 


Maine 


1862 
1862 


1865 
1791 




2 


Vermont 


? ? 



Southern Division 



13 



Alabama . 
Florida. . . 
Georgia . . 



Kentucky 



Louisiana 

Mississippi 

North Carolina. 
South Carolina. 



Tennessee , 



Virginia 

West Virginia. 



1819 
ii845 
\1862 

1862 
ri862 
J 1806 
1 1811 
I 1827 

1862 

1819 



Before 

1807 
1862 

1864 



1820 
1869 
1785 

1865 

1853 
1844 
1789 
1801 

1807 

1819 
1867 



1801 



184s 



1819 
1867 



1831 



i860 



179s 
1805 



1825 
1867 



Middle West Division 



Indiana . 

Illinois. 
Iowa. . . 
Kansas . 



Minnesota . 

Missouri. . . 

Michigan^. 

Nebraska. . 
Ohio. . ._. . . 
Wisconsin . 



i»04 i 
1816 / 
1862 
1840 
1861 
1851 1 
1862 J 
1862 
1804 1 
1826 J 
1862 
1862 
1839 



1867 
1847 
1864 

1851 
1839 
1837 
1869 
1870 
1848 



1820 
1867 
1847 
1865 

1851 
1839 
1837 

1849 



1824 
1868 
1855 
1866 

1851 
1841 
1841 

1849 



Rocky Mountain Division 


24 


Utah 




1850 


1850 


1867 








Pacific Slope Division 


25 
26 


California 

Washington 


/1853I 

\1862 J 

1854 


1866 
185s 


1866 
1861 


1869 
1862 



1 The data given in Table I -were compiled from the historical sketches found in the 
annual catalogues of the institutions concerned, for the scholastic year 1910-1911, unless 
otherwise accredited. 

2 The data concerning the University of Michigan are taken from Farrand's " History 
of the University of Michigan." 



Educational Conditions in United States About i8yo 15 



Maine : 
Vermont : 



. Alabama: 


1865, 




1868, 




1869, 


.. Florida: 


l8S2: 




1867, 



1868 







1870, 


s- 


Georgia : 


1870, 


6. 


Kentucky : 


1865, 
1870, 


7- 


Louisiana : 


i860, 

1863, 
1865, 
1869, 
1870, 


8. 


Mississippi : 


1861, 
1861- 

1868- 


9- 


North Carolina : 


1868- 


;o. 


South Carolina : 


1862- 
1865, 
1866, 



SUPPLEMENT TO TABLE I 

Northeastern Division 

1870, University not open. 

1865, "State Agricultural College" incorporated 

with the University of Vermont. (Cat., 

1910-ir, p. 10) 

Southern Division 

University buildings burned by Federal Cav- 
alry. (Cat., 1910-11, p. 12) 

University opened with 30 students. (U. S. 
Com. Rept., 1870-71, Vol. 2, p. 82) 

Collegiate instruction resumed. (Cat., 1910- 
II, p. 12) 

"East Florida Seminary" established. (Cat., 
1910-11, p. 16) 

"East Florida Seminary," destined to become 
part of University of Florida, moved to 
Gainesville. (U. S. Com. Rept., 1870-71, 
Vol. 2, p. 106) 

Constitution adopted this year provided: 
"The Legislature shall provide a uniform 
system of common schools and a Univer- 
sity." (Cat., 1910-11, p. 16) 

East Florida University had 75 students. (U. 
S. Com. Rept., 1870-71, Vol. 2, p. 106) 

No institution at this time known as State 
university. 

Fixed curriculum, no sciences until after this 
date ; soon after, reorganization and expan- 
sion of work as result of Land Grant Act 
of 1862. (Cat., 1910— II, pp. 4, 5) 

Funds from Land Grant, of 1862, used to 
found "one of the colleges of Kentucky 
University" now "Transylvania Univer- 
sity"; 

No State University, so called, at this time. 
(Cat., 1910-11, p. 9) 

"Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and 
Military Academy" opened; 

Seminary closed; 

Seminary reopened; 

Buildings burned; 

Exercises resumed at Baton Rouge. (Cat., 
1911, p. 22) 

Only four students applied for admission; 

-1865, University suspended. (Cat., 1910-11, 
p. 20) 

-1869, Number of students, 214. (U. S. Com. 
Rept., 1870-71, p. 201) 

-69, A president, 5 professors and 41 students. 
(U. S. Com. Rept., 1870-71, Vol. 2, p. 250) 

-1865, Buildings used for Confederate hospital; 

Charter of " South Carolina College" changed; 

"South Carolina College" reopened as "Uni- 
versity of South Carolina." (Cat., 1910- 
II, p. 4) 



i6 



Admission to College by Certificate 



Tennessee ; 



12. Virginia: 



1869, Agricultural ^^^ Mechanical College estab- 
lished as a department of "East Tennessee 
University." "Thus the scope of the insti- 
tution was greatly widened, making it now 
possible, for the first time in its history, to 
begin the building of a trtie University." 
(Cat., 1910-11, p. 7) 



1861-65, "Life at the University during the years 
from 1861 to 1865 "^a-s not unlike that 
throughout the South in the matter of pri- 
vation and self-denial, borne without com- 
plaining." (The University of Virginia. — 
Patten, p. 214) 
1870, Number of professors, 15; Number of stu- 
dents, 464. (U. S. Com. Rept., 1870-71, 
Vol. 2, p. 515) 
13. West Virginia: 1870, First building completed. "For many years 
the growth of the new institution was very 
slow and uncertain." (Cat., 1910-11, p. 24) 



14. Indiana: 



15. Illinois: 



16. Iowa: 



17- 



Kansas : 



18, Minnesota: 



19. Missouri: 



Middle West Division 

1820, "State Seminary" founded; 
1828, "State Seminary" became "Indiana College"; 
1838, "Indiana College" became "Indiana Univer- 
sity"; 

1867, First State appropriation, $8000, for support 

of Indiana University. (Cat., 1911, pp. 
37. 39. 41. 46) 

1868, Seventy-seven students enrolled; 

1870, Women admitted; "First shop instruction 
given in any American University." (Cat., 
1910-11, p. 58) 

i860. University reorganized; only normal depart- 
ment in operation from 1858 to i860; 

1868, Law Department established; 

1870, Medical Department established. (Cat., 

1910-11, p. 35) 
1866, Only preparatory department. (Cat., 1910- 

II. P- 35) 

1869, Number of students enrolled, 143; 16 in col- 

lege and 127 in preparatory work. (U. S. 

Com. Rept., 1870-71, Vol. 2, p. 182) 
Only "preparatory school" opened; 
-1866, debt troubles; 
"preparatory department" opened; 



1851, 

1857- 
1867, 
1869, 



'small company of preparatory students 
lie 



1867 
1867 



1869 
1870 



ready for college instruction." (General 
o-ii. PP- 37. 38) 
(Bui. of University, May, 



Information, 1910-11, pp. 37, 38) 

■ " :~ " of III ■ 

1909) 



First State Aid. 



-1868, Number of students, 217. (U. S. Com. 

Rept., 1870-71, Vol. 2, p. 204) 
, Normal department opened; 
, Women admitted; 
, School of Agriculture and School of Mines 

organized. (Cat., 1910-11, p. 20) 



Educational Conditions in United States About i8yo 



17 



20. Michigan:^ 1837, First "preparatory branch" opened, (p. 28) 

1838, Four additional "branches" opened, (p. 28) 
1848, All aid withdrawn from "preparatory branch- 
es." (p. 28) 
1851-52, Fifty-seven students attended the Literary 
Department ; the number had been decreas- 
ing for four years. "The decrease. . . .was 
attributed (in part) to lack of preparatory 
schools, since the University had withdrawn 
its assistance from the branch schools .... 
several of them had been closed. But few 
towns in the State were able to support 
more than their primary schools." (p. 70) 
1850, School of Medicine opened, (p. 87) 
1852 -1 853, Sixty students in Literary Department. 

(P- 138) 

1859, Law School opened, (p. 136) 

i860, "The announcement in regard to the scien- 
tific course was elaborated." (p. 100) 

1863-1864, "There were 856 students in all de- 
partments." (p. 175) 

1866-1867, "There were 1255" students. Imme- 
diately after the close of the Civil War the 
number of students in the University was 
greatly increased, (pp. 172, 173) 

1 868-1 869, Many changes were made in courses, in 
requirements and in additions to the work 
of the University, (pp. 173-177) 

1869, "Appropriation, for the aid of the University, 

of $15,000, for the year, and for each year 
thereafter. . . . More important than all 
else was the practical recognition by the 
legislature of the principle of state aid for 
the University." (pp. 187, 188) 

University not open. 

University not open. 

Only preparatory department; 

First graduates, two in number; 

Preparatory department criticised and lim- 
ited in scope; University reorganized; 
1859, Henry Barnard became President of the Uni- 
versity. "His policy centered in elevating 
the public school system of the State as a 
basis for university growth, but ill health 
caused his resignation in i860"; 
1864, "No commencement was held, all but one of 
the senior class having joined the army"; 
1866, Reorganization effected. "The close of the 
war brought a new inspiration and growth 
to the University"; 

1870, "The University had nearly 500 students." 

(Cat., 1910-11, pp! 47, 48, 50, 51) 

"Rocky Mountain Division 

24. Utah: 1851, "University of Deseret" closed after being 

open one year; 

1 All page references in this table concerning the University of Michigan are to Far- 
rand's " History of the University of Michigan." 



21. Nebraska: 


1870 


22. Ohio: 


1870 


23. Wisconsin: 


1849 




1854 
1858 



1 8 Admission to College by Certificate 

1867, "University of Deseret" reopened; 
1869, University more fully organized. (Cat., 1910- 
II, P- 7) 

Pacific Slope Division 

25. California: 1852, "Contra Costa Academy" founded; 

1855, "Contra Costa Academy, later changed to 
College School," incorporated as "College 
of California' ' ; 

1869, "College of California" opened as "Univer- 
sity of California." (Cat., 1909-10, pp. 

33, 35) 

26. "Washington: 1870, No graduates until six years later; "For 

several years the work of the University did 
not rank much above that of an academy." 
(Cat., 1909-10, p. 36) 

Observations Based on Table I and Its Supplement 

Of the twenty-six state and territorial universities founded be- 
fore 1870, in seven cases only did the initiative of state legis- 
latures precede appropriations by the Federal Government. In 
the case of South Dakota, the legislature merely located a uni- 
versity and then petitioned Congress to appropriate lands for its 
endowment. This Congress failed to do until 1881, and until 
after that date South Dakota's University existed in name only; 
and, for that reason. South Dakota is not included in the table. 
The University of North Carolina, the second state university 
founded in the United States, has never received aid from the 
Government. The University of Vermont was founded upon state 
grants but received Federal aid at a later date. South Carolina, 
Virginia, and Missouri, in the order named, founded their uni- 
versities upon their own resources. Utah, whose inclusion in 
the table may be properly questioned, two and one-half years 
after her settlement organized a university, destined later to 
become the State University; but lack of students and finan- 
cial support closed its doors. This institution, sixteen years 
later, was again opened without help from the General Govern- 
ment. The first state university chartered by a legislature was 
the University of Georgia. When that institution was opened in 
1801, it possessed " an unproductive and, for the most part, un- 
inhabitable tract of land."^ 

The authorities consulted do not give the sources of the grant. 
Since no Federal grants are reported by other states until nine- 
teen years after the University of Georgia was chartered it 

* Cat, 1910-11, p. 4. 



Educational Conditions in United States About iSyo 19 

seems probable that this land was given by the State. With the 
exception of the seven institutions named and discussed the 
others, nineteen in all, clearly owed their origin, directly or in- 
directly, to Federal aid. 

The part performed by the General Government in the foun- 
dation of state universities, previous to 1870, may be seen best 
by comparing the dates in column one with those in column two, 
of the table. In fifteen of the nineteen cases of Federal endow- 
ment the acts of the legislatures follow so closely after the en- 
dowments that little room is left to doubt the causes of the legis- 
lative steps. Sometimes a second endowment seemed necessary 
to move certain states. This appears to have been true in the 
cases of Florida, Louisiana, Indiana, Michigan, and California. 

It may be observed that the grants fall into three classes. 
From 1804 to 1807 a group of four institutions received grants. 
From 1807 to 1862 the endowments were made at random or 
when states were admitted into the Union. In 1862, the most 
effective stroke of the Government was made in a provision for 
agricultural and mechanical colleges. 

Table I shows that exactly one-half of the institutions named 
were either originally organized as a result of the Morrill land 
grant act or revised their former organizations as a result of it. 
These were the universities of Maine, Vermont;, Florida, 
Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Illinois, Minne- 
sota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and California. Because of the 
war, the actions of state legislatures were often delayed and the 
practical results of the Land Grant Act of 1862 are seen only 
in prophetic plans and changes in organization. Five of the in- 
stitutions on the list, Maine, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, and 
Ohio, were not yet open as state universities in 1870; and three 
others, West Virginia, Illinois and California were opened in 
1867, 1868 and 1869, respectively. The changes made in five 
other cases came between the close of the war and 1870. Ver- 
mont combined the new agricultural college with her old univer- 
sity in 1865 ; Georgia revised an old fixed curriculum by incor- 
porating the new subjects called for by the conditions of the 
grant; Tennessee grafted the new branches into an old institu- 
tion, founded thirty-nine years before, which was destined to 
become her state university some years later; Minnesota re- 



20 Admission to College by Certificate 

ceived the aid in time to enable her to incorporate the Agricul- 
tural and Mechanical College into her state university, which 
was just changing from a preparatory school to a college; the 
expansion of the University of Missouri into a flourishing in- 
stitution, in 1868, 1869, and 1870, may be traced in part to the 
Act of 1862. Here then are thirteen of the twenty-six institu- 
tions composing Table I feeling the impulse of the Government 
within a period of five years. 

No attempt will be made to set forth the changes in curricula 
directly traceable to this act. The Federal Government without 
attempting to destroy the old classical curriculum called upon 
the states to include other subjects in their teaching. More than 
that the Government proposed to pay for the teaching. The in- 
fluence of this step on the part of the General Government was a 
most powerful factor in the organization of educational insti- 
tutions about 1870 and thereafter. 

A significant point is brought out by this table in the matter 
of general divisions of the states of the Union with reference to 
the foundation and organization of state universities. Agricul- 
tural and mechanical colleges are not included in this study for 
the reason that they have not been material factors in the de- 
velopment of the system of certification. The Northeastern di- 
vision of states, comprising the New England and the Middle 
states, possessed but two state universities, in 1870, — those of 
Vermont and Maine. Eleven of the twenty-six institutions 
named in Table I are in the Southern states. Two of these, 
Florida and Kentucky, were not yet organized as separate state 
universities. While the Southern state universities were, as a 
class, the first to be founded, some were slow in opening their 
doors to students. Indeed, many of them led precarious lives 
until they were closed by the Civil War, The Pacific division 
had two universities, but that of Washington was little more 
than a preparatory school, while the University of California 
was just opening. The only institution found in the Rocky 
Mountain division was that of Utah, which was not yet a state 
university, but is included in the table for the reason that it 
was destined to be the state university of Utah at a later date, 
and in 1870 was serving as a territorial institution. The Middle 
West was far in the lead at the close of the period under ex- 



Educational Conditions in United States About 18 JO 21 

animation. Michigan and Missouri opened in 1841, Wisconsin 
in 1849, Minnesota in 185 1, Iowa in 1855, Indiana at an earlier 
date and Illinois somewhat later. These institutions represented 
the most vigorous type of state universities found in the United 
States at the close of this period. But while these twenty-six 
institutions have been classed as universities, the question arises 
as to whether their strength as colleges and universities was not 
more apparent than real. A further study of their conditions 
will be made in the following table. 



Admission to 



by Certificate 



TABLE IP 

Instructors and Students in State Universities, Named in 
Table I, in 1870 







Num- 


Number of Students 


Per 






ber 
of 






Cent 
Prep. 


Nos. 


States 


Pre- 












Instruc- 


para- 


Aca- 


Others 


Totals 


Stu- 






tors 


tory 


demic 






dents 


I 


Maine^ 














2 


Vermont 

Alabama 


16 








114 
3° 




3 


? 






4 


Florida'^ 


? 


40 




5° 


90 




s 


Georgia 


10 








76 




6 


Kentucky*. . . . 


9 








283 




7 


Louisiana 


18 








179 




8 


Mississippi. . . . 


9 








231 




9 


North Carolina 


6 


38 


17 




55 


69 


10 


South Carolina 


17 








6S 




11 


Tennessee^ 


5 








121 




12 


Virginia 


15 








464 




13 


West Virginia. 
Indiana 


10 


140 


II 
284 




151 
319 


92 


14 


IS 


35 


II 


IS 


Illinois 


12 








75 




16 


Iowa« 


18 


40 


147 


116 


303 


21 


17 


Kansas 


7 


128 







128 


100 


18 


Minnesota'. . . . 


10 








299 




19 


Missouri 


9 


86 


126 




212 


40 


20 


Michigan* .... 


33 





332 


130 


462 





21 


Nebraska^ 














22 


Ohio2 














23 


Wisconsin* 

Utah" 

California 


21 


193 


152 


ISO 


495 
546 

50 


55 


24 


14 






25 


6 












"70 






"70 




26 


Washington. . . 




or 






or 










80" 


1 80" 





iThis table was compiled from U. S. Com. Rapt., 1870-71, Vol. 2, pp. 81-354 and 
506-529. 

* University not open m 1870. 

3 No University of Florida, so called, at this time. See supplement to Table I and 
references concerning " East Florida Seminary." 

* See supplement to Table I and references concerning " Kentucky University. "_ 

5 See supplement to Table I and references concerning " East Tennessee University." 

6 116 women not distributed in departments, hence are not counted in percentage of 
preparatory students. 

7 See supplement to Table I and references concerning " University of Minnesota." 

8 Only "academic" and "scientific" students included. 

* ISO women not distributed in departments, hence are not counted in percentage of 



preparatory st 
I* See suppli 



students. 



ement to Table I and references concerning " University of Deseret." 



Observations Based on Table II 

Table II, though fragmentary, when analyzed in connection 
with Table I and its Supplement divulges facts, important in 



Educational Conditions in United States About iSyo 23 

this study. The accessible sources do not reveal every time the 
exact dates of the reports upon which the table is based; but it 
is certain that in all cases the reports were for years pre- 
ceding, by one or two, or including the scholastic year 1869- 
1870. 

It may be noted that in the entire Northeastern division, com- 
prising ten states in all, only 114 students were in state univer- 
sities. In the Southern states, 1745 students were enrolled in 
eleven institutions entirely or partly under state control. Eight 
state universities in the Middle West were instructing 2293 stu- 
dents, while the states and territories of the Rocky Mountains 
and Pacific Slope had about 670 students in three institutions. 
A grand total of 4822 students, or 87 per cent of the number of 
students enrolled in the University of Wisconsin for the scholas- 
tic year, 1910-1911, were enrolled in twenty-three state univer- 
sities about 1 869- 1 870. 

The especial object for which Table II has been arranged is 
to set forth as nearly as possible the relative numbers of stu- 
dents in the preparatory and academic departments of the in- 
stitutions named. The first question may very properly be, how 
many of these twenty-three universities did preparatory work or 
supported preparatory departments? The answer to this ques- 
tion is not found in Table II alone, but when taken in conjunc- 
tion with Table I and its Supplement the answer becomes ob- 
tainable. Ten universities answer for themselves by giving de- 
finite figures. All but one of these institutions report prepara- 
tory students. In the nine universities reporting, 49 per cent 
of all students were doing preparatory work. This computation 
does not include 266 women reported in two institutions but not 
distributed in departments; nor are the 462 students, reported 
by the University of Michigan in the academic department, in- 
cluded. What about preparatory work in the remaining thirteen 
institutions not distributing students in their reports? The 299 
students reported by the University of Minnesota were nearly 
all preparatory students if we take for face value the statement 
cited in the Supplement to Table I concerning that institution. 
Since the " University of Deseret," later the University of 
Utah, opened in 1867, it would seem that a very large part of 
the 546 students reported must have been doing preparatory 



24 Admission to College by Certificate 

work at the time of the report. For the rank of the newly or- 
ganized University of Cahfornia, opinion must be based upon 
the following statement taken from the United States Com- 
missioner's Report, already cited, page 91 : "About fifty stu- 
dents have entered to date, distributed among the various col- 
leges, most of them, however, in the College of Letters." Since 
only two of the eleven Southern universities give the numbers 
of their academic and preparatory students, it is necessary to 
judge of the nature of their work from somewhat general facts. 
North Carolina reported 69 per cent of her 55 students in the 
preparatory department, while West Virginia reported 92 per 
cent of her 151 students in preparatory training. Without re- 
peating details given and cited in the Supplement to Table I, it 
may be confidently asserted that, since all of the Southern state 
universities were practically or completely closed during the 
War, that reconstruction delayed their reopening, that most of 
them were merely in the course of reorganization at the time of 
their reports, it seems probable that many of the 1745 students 
reported were doing preparatory work. The presence of agri- 
cultural and norrhal departments in at least four of these eleven 
institutions may be adduced as evidence regarding the presence 
of preparatory students. 

The question, then, as to the number of state universities 
doing preparatory work or supporting preparatory departments 
may be answered by stating that with the exception of Vermont, 
concerning which institution we have no data, and with the cer- 
tain exception of Michigan, the remaining twenty-one certainly 
did more or less preliminary work. While the University of 
Michigan had made far more progress than any other state uni- 
versity in making a complete demarkation between preparatory 
and collegiate students, in 1870, the statement encountered in 
the catalogue for the year, i870-i'S7i, recommending that can- 
didates take one year of Freshman work before applying for 
regular entrance to the Freshman class remains suggestive. As 
to the exact numbers of students in the twenty-three institutions 
doing secondary work no definite answer can be given ; it seems 
highly probable, however, considering the available evidence that 
at least 50 per cent of all students were doing what would be 
classed as preparatory work, today. 



Educational Conditions in United States About i8yo i 

TABLE nil 

Instructors and Students in Other Than State Universities 
IN States, Named in Tables I and II, in 1870 



No. 


States 


No. 
of 
In- 
stitu- 
tions 


No. 
Re- 
port- 
ing 


No. 
of 
In- 
struc- 
tors 


No. 
of 
Stu- 
dents 


Re- 
port- 
ing Ac. 

and 
Prep. 

Stu- 
dents 


No. 
of 
In- 
struc- 
tors 


No. of Students 


Per 
cent of 
Prep. 
Stu- 
dents 


Prep. 


Ac. 


Totals 


I 
2 


Maine.... 
Vermont . 

Alabama. 
Florida. . . 
Georgia. . . 
Kentucky- 
Louisiana. 

Miss 

N. Car. .. 
S. Car. . . . 
Tennessee 
Virginia. . 
WestVa.. 

Indiana . . 
Illinois . . . 

Iowa 

Kansas. . . 
Minnesota 
Missouri. . 
Michigan . 
Nebraska. 

Ohio 

Wisconsin 

Utah 

California. 
Wash .... 

Totals.. 


4 
2 

3 

I 
6 

I 
I 
9 
4 
16 
9 
I 

17 
27 

12 

6 
1 
13 
6 

34 
13 



14 



4 

I 

2 

I 
5 
7 
4 
I 
9 
4 
13 
9 
I 

16 
24 
9 

4 

I 
II 

5 

31 
II 


40 
7 


Hi 


4 


40 


475 


3S7 

36 
49 
395 
241 

20 
300 

/^ 
645 
69 

545 

1342 

260 

80 

3 

99 

1488 
437 

164 


832 

184 
148 
489 
352 

lOI 

^If 

1128 
16s 

997 
2921 

3^3^ 
43 

362 

3107 
1983 

515 


57 


3 
4 
S 
6 

I 
9 

II 
12 
13 


26 
6 

tl 

17 

5 

49 

'I 
89 
9 


396 
148 
720 
1471 
42s 

lOI 

894 

333 

1618 
94 


I 
3 

I 
2 

? 


5 
6 
24 
22 

5 
12 

6 
S3 

6 


148 
99 
94 

III 

81 
26 
62 
483 
96 


80 
66 
19 
31 

80 
8 
76 
42 
58 


14 

li 
17 
18 
19 
20 

22 

23 


144 
224 
72 
17 
4 
129 
44 

272 
81 


3316 

4472 

1608 

338 

18^7 
938 

5566 
2088 


4 

4 

I 

17 


39 

154 

39 

17 

4 

16 

156 

77 


452 

'i 

40 

263 

1619 
1546 


45 
53 

11 
93 

72 

52 

77 


24 














11 


113 


1831 


4 


38 


351 


68 




214 


184 


ISS4 


30943 


83 


719 


8452 


6549 


— 


56 



iThe data found in Table III were compiled from the U. S. Com. Rept., 1870-1871 
Vol. 2, pp. 81 to 354 and So6 to 529. 



Observations Based on Table III 

That state universities, with a single exception, were largely- 
doing their own preparatory work, in 1870, as has been shown 
by Tables I and II, does not settle the question of student supply 
for independent and denominational colleges existing in the 
twenty-six states named. For the purpose of studying this ques- 
tion. Table III has been compiled. 

While the data used are incomplete, yet, when they are care- 
fully analyzed, they become valuable. Should their incomplete- 
ness provoke criticism, the only reply that can be made is that 
they are the most reliable statistics available; especially is this 
true with regard to the more undeveloped states. A newly or- 
ganized National Bureau of Education desiring to make the 



26 Admission to College by Certificate 

completest report possible of educational conditions in the United 
States made a most strenuous effort, using both official and pri- 
vate channels, to obtain the most reliable statistics. Table III 
has been compiled from the statistics thus collected. 

The numbers of institutions given for the several states most 
probably include all of the colleges at all worthy of the name. 
The thirty institutions counted as in existence, but making no 
reports, were doubtless, with exceedingly few exceptions, very 
small and undeveloped. The fact that only eighty-two of the 
one hundred eighty-four institutions reporting made no distribu- 
tion of students into preparatory and academic departments 
leaves much to be desired. But since the eighty-two institu- 
tions making the distributions, or 44 per cent of all those report- 
ing, had 45 per cent of all instructors and 47 per cent of all 
students reporting, a fair basis for conclusions is furnished. 
Furthermore, a careful study of related facts, given in the Com- 
missioner's Report, leads to the belief that of those institutions 
not distributing students in their reports, practically all, if not 
all, maintained preparatory classes or preparatory departments. 
The Roman Catholic institutions, of which eighteen reported 
252 instructors and 3545 students, did not distribute students in 
a single case. It is more than probable that all of those insti- 
tutions did more or less preparatory work. The large number 
of colleges reporting fewer than 100 students and not distri- 
buting them support the presumption that they were little more 
than preparatory schools. The two largest colleges in Virginia, 
next to the University, Washington, with 20 instructors and 
410 students, and the Virginia Military Institute, with 23 in- 
structors and 376 students, are both known to have done some 
preparatory work in 1870. Neither of these institutions made 
distributions in their reports. Indeed, the only two colleges, of 
the 184 reporting, which do not seem to have been doing any 
preparatory work when the reports were made, were " Davidson 
College," of North Carolina, and " Mercer College," of Georgia. 
The former reported 6 instructors and 120 students; the latter, 
5 instructors and 82 students. Both institutions distribute their 
students into Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior classes 
and do not report any in preparatory work. 

The conclusions which may be reasonably drawn from Table 



Educational Conditions in United States About i8yo 27 



III are (i) that a goodly number of the institutions reporting 
as colleges were, in fact, little more than elementary and pre- 
paratory schools; (2) that there is strong evidence that all but 
two of these 184 institutions were doing some preparatory work 
or supporting preparatory departments; and (3) that more than 
50 per cent of all students reported were partly or fully below 
college rank. 

TABLE lyi 

Instructors and Students in Colleges of States Not Having 
State Universities in 1870 



No. 


States 


No. 
of 
In- 
stitu- 
tions 


Inst. 
Re- 
port- 
ing 


No. 
of 
In- 
struc- 
tors 


No. 
of 
Stu- 
dents 


Inst. 
Re- 
port- 
ing 
Ac. 
and 
Prep. 
Stu- 
dents 


No. 
of 
In- 
struc- 
tors 


No. 
Prep. 


of Stud 
Ac. 


ents 
Totals 


Per 
cent 
Prep. 
Stu- 
dents 


I 
2 
3 
4 
S 
6 

I 
9 
10 

II 
12 

13 


Rhode is. 

Conn 

New York 
New Jer. . 

Penna 

Delaware. 
Maryland. 
Dist. of C. 

Arkansas . 
Texas 

Oregon. . . 

Totals.. 


I 
6 
I 
3 

27 
6 

34 
2 

10 
4 

I 
4 

4 


I 
6 
I 
3 

24 
S 

28 
I 
9 
4 

1 
3 

3 


27 

142 

14 

4r8 

70 

'1 

123 

70 

s 

21 

13 


382 
13S0 

217 

889 
7034 

864 

'% 

1061 
121S 

80 
401 

476 


I 
6 
1 
3 

12 
2 

12 

I 
1 

1 


27 
142 
14 

2?i 

37 
141 

12 
18 

5 





2893 



1116 

94 
112 

108 


382 
1350 

217 

889 
1662 

479 
1427 

87 
139 

IS 


382 
1350 

217 

889 
4SSS 

479 
2543 

181 
251 

123 





63 

43 

51 
44 

87 




103 


89 


1350 


19470 


40 


757 


4323 


6647 


10970 


39 



1 The statistics found in Table IV were compiled from U. S. Com. Rept., 1870-71, Vol. 
2, pp. 81-354 and 506-529. 

Observations Based on Table IV 

Tables II and III were prepared to show certain facts con- 
cerning the ranks and distributions of students in the states hav- 
ing state universities in 1870; Table IV has been compiled to as- 
certain the same series of facts concerning the states not having 
state universities. The Territories of Arizona, New Mexico, 
Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Dakota, and the 
Indian Territory are not included in any of these three tables 
for the reason that not one of them reported a college or higher 
institution of learning before the date upon which these tables 
are based. 

The table shows that, outside New England and the Middle 
States, higher education made a feeble showing in states not 



28 



Admission to College by Certificate 



having state universities. In the states of New Hampshire, 
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey, 
collegiate and preparatory students were not reported in the 
same institutions. This condition stands out in singular contrast 
with conditions elsewhere. Until this point is reached, with 
three exceptions, no need for admission to college by certificate 
has appeared. The question at once arises, why was admission 
to college by certificate not taken up in these states before it was 
in states having state universities? Some reasons will be of- 
fered after certain other facts are presented. 

TABLE yi 

Colleges Reporting Only Academic Students, in All 
States, in 1870 











No. of 


No. 




No. 


No. 




Total 










In- 


of 


No. of 


of 


of 


Sci. 


No. 


No. 


Name 


State 


Denom . 


struc- 
tors 


Fresh- 
men 


Sophs. 


Jun- 
iors 


Sen- 
iors 


Dept. 


Stu- 
dents 




Yale College.... 


Conn. 


Cong. 


68 


143 


132 


140 


104 


125 


644 




Wesleyan U 


u 


M. E. 


10 


SI 


.33 


31 


38 




IS3 




Trinity College . . 


" 


P. E. 


IS 


22 


28 


21 


21 




92 




Mercer U 


Ga. 


Bapt. 


s 


14 


24 


24 


20 




82 




Bowdoin College. 


Me. 


Cong. 


14 


46 


30 


21 


30 


10 


137 


6 


Colby U 


" 


Bapt. 
F.W.B. 


6 


17 


13 


IS 


7 




52 


7 


Bates College . . . 


" 


12 


26 


28 


16 


8 




78 


8 


Williams College. 


Mass. 


Cong. 


II 


35 


45 


44 


37 




161 


9 


Tufts College.... 


" 


Univ. 


IS 


14 


IS 


17 


8 


8 


62 


10 


Amherst College . 


" 


Cong. 


19 


72 


75 


48 


65 




260 


II 


Harvard College . 


" 




7S 


193 


140 


123 


158 


41 


6SS 


12 


Dartmouth C. . . 


N. H. 


Cong. 


27 


82 


85 


66 


72 


77 


382 


13 


College of N. J.. 


N. J. 


Pres. 


24 


62 


94 


86 


86 




328 


14 


Rutgers College . 




Ref. 


13 


38 


24 


22 


21 


46 


151 


IS 


St. Lawrence U . 


N._Y. 


Univ. 


9 


II 


14 


6 


10 


6 


47 


16 


Hamilton College 




Pres. 


II 


38 


46 


3S 


41 




160 


17 


U. of Rochester. 


" 


Bapt. 


10 


28 


25 


32 


23 


6 


114 


18 


Union College. . . 


" 


Pres. 


16 


22 


25 


26 


29 


12 


114 


19 


Genesee College . 


" 


M. E. 


4 


19 


14 


12 


II 




56 


20 


Columbia College 


" 


P. E. 


14 


36 


24 


31 


31 




122 


21 


Hobart College. . 


" 


P. E. 


14 


22 


15 


18 


12 




67 


22 


Davidson College 


N. C. 


Pres. 


6 


28 


33 


39 


15 


12 


125 


23 


Lafayette College 
U. ofPa 


Pa. 


Pres. 


23 


62 


45 


48 


21 


4 


180 


24 


" 




26 


33 


48 


27 


16 


32 


IS6 


25 


Brown U 


R.I. 


' Bapt . ' 


14 


31 


55 


53 


78 




217 


26 


U. of Mich 

Totals 


Mich. 


State 


33 


112 


81 


65 


74 


130 


462 




494 


1257 


1191 


1066 


1034 


509 


5057 













References same as for Table IV. 



Observations Based on Table V 

Table V represents a set of conditions entirely different from 
those back of colleges and universities outside the New Eng- 
land and Middle Atlantic States. The 26 institutions named in 
this table reported none but bona fide college students. Their 
students were prepared for college work outside the institutions 



Educational Conditions in United States About iSyo 29 

they were attending, and were admitted by some form of en- 
trance examination. 

The first general factor to be noted is that with the exception 
of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michi- 
gan, all of these colleges owed their original foundations or ac- 
knowledged their allegiance to churches. Five of these colleges 
were Congregationalist ; five, Presbyterian; four. Baptist; three, 
Protestant Episcopal ; two, Methodist Episcopal ; two, Universal- 
ist; and the Dutch Reformed and Free Will Baptist churches 
each controlled one school. Church influences radiating from 
other centers doubtless explain the existence of " Davidson Col- 
lege," in North Carolina, and "Mercer College," in Georgia. It 
may be recalled that these two small colleges appeared as seeming 
stragglers in Table III. Other facts of importance in this study 
are that all of these colleges, with the exception of the Univer- 
sity of Michigan, are close to the Atlantic Coast; eleven are in 
New England. Many of them were transferred or copied from 
England, and brought their traditions with them. Their curri- 
cula were classical and fixed, and so were those of the colleges 
in England. English colleges were for the few, trained in the 
so-called " Public Schools " ; New England colleges were like- 
wise for a select class, trained by scholarly ministers and by the 
old Latin schools. English colleges believed in entrance exam- 
inations ; so did these 25 American colleges along the Atlantic 
seaboard. A further discussion relative to the presence of 
entrance examinations, in these colleges, and the absence of 
admission by certificate will be made after additional facts have 
been examined. 

So far the question has been discussed from the standpoint of 
the colleges ; it will now be taken up on the side of the schools. 

Primary and Secondary School Systems in the United States, 
Until 1870^'' 
For the purposes of later comparisons and discussions the 
states and territories are arranged in five groups, as were the 
colleges and universities in previous tables. While the grouping 
is based upon educational and not upon geographical conditions, 

^"The data upon which the following tables of facts are based are found 
in the Report of the United States Commissioner of Education, 1870-71, 
Vol. 2. The page references, given in the tables, are to that volume. 



30 Admission to College by Certificate 

the fact is worthy of note that no state or territory is removed 
from geographical contiguity with the other states and terri- 
tories of its own group. 

TABLE VI 

Primary and Secondary School Systems in the Southern 
Division of the United States, About 1870 
Nos. States Dates Facts 

1. Alabama: 1868, New school law. Trouble in putting new law 

into operation. Lack of school funds. 4000 
free schools established, (p. 81) 
1870, "Alabama, after the friends of education had 
put forth most strenuous efforts, and se- 
cured the general opening of schools with 
hopes of permanent success in the estab- 
lishment of free and universal education, 
now debates the question of advancing or 
retreating." — Commissioner, (p. 5) 

2. Arkansas: 1869, Children of school age, 180,000; connected 

with schools during year, "about" 100,000. 
Want of funds. Apathy, in some sections, 
hostility toward free schools, (p. 86) 
1870, "School prospects are brightening every day 
in Arkansas." Dr. Sears, Agent of Pea- 
body Fund. (p. 86) 

"School prospects are brightening every day 
in Arkansas." Thomas Smith, State Super- 
intendent, (p. 87) 

"Arkansas, encountering the obstacles com- 
mon to the regions where slavery has been 
abolished, has secured a greater success 
than a majority of the Southern States." 
— Commissioner, (p. 15) 

3. Florida: 1869, School law passed. 

1870, "Florida. .. .has hesitated in giving the 
greatest efficiency to the system sought to 
be established, and yet presents reasons 
for anticipating the general prevalence of 
free schools."— Commissioner, (p. 15) 

4. Georgia: 1870, "Georgia has just passed a school law and 

appointed a State Commissioner, but must 
wait a year for funds with which to put the 
system into full operation." — Commis- 
sioner, (p. 16) 

5. Kentucky: 1869, Legislature refused to revise inefficient school 

laws. Contest between State Superinten- 
dent and Legislature, (p. 147) 

6. Louisiana: 1867-1868, Large portion of school fund lost. 

1869, New school law provided for mixed (whites 
and negroes) schools which rendered whole 
system obnoxious, (p. 150) 

7. Mississippi: 1870, School law passed, (p. 200) 

"Mississippi, although commencing late, is 
progressing steadily and efficiently in the 
establishment of a system of free schools, 
notwithstanding the great and bitter op- 
position, appointing county superinten- 
dents, collecting the school tax, and build- 
ing school houses." — Commissioner, (p. 15) 






Educational Conditions in United States About i8yo 31 



8. North Carolina : 



9. South Carolina : 



10. Tennessee: 



Texas : 



12. Virginia: 



1 3 . West Virginia : 



1869, School law passed, (p. 248) 

1870, "No information as to the number of public 

schools, of any grade, conducted under 
state auspices, or of pupils receiving in- 
struction at state expense." — Commis- 
sioner, (p. 248) 

1868, Educational Department organized, but little 
accomplished, (p. 285) 

1870, "The failure of the general assembly to pass 
a school bill at last session has delayed 
work for nearly a year. The children of the 
State are daily growing up in ignorance." 
— Commissioner, (p. 285) 

1867, Passed revised school law. (p. 286) 

1868, Entire school population, 410,000; enrolled 

in schools, 185,845. (p. 286) 

1869, First report of Superintendent of Public In- 

struction, (p. 286) 

1870, Since above report was published, main fea- 

tures of law before secession restored. State 
supervision abolished, (p. 287) 
1870, "In Texas no school legislation has, so far, 
succeeded and no public officers are at work 
for the organization of schools, her entire 
population being left to grow up in ignor- 
ance, save as here and there a private en- 
terprise throws a ray of light upon the gen- 
eral darkness." — Commissioner, (p. 16) 
1870, System of public free schools established. 
^ ^ (p- 29s) 

' Virginia is putting a free school system into 
operation, but encountering great difficulties 
in the lack of means, the want of correct 
information of what a free school system is, 
and in the absence of school houses and 
qualified school officers and teachers." — 
Commissioner, (p. 15) 
1870, Free public schools had been established 
before this date. Pupils, 6 to 2 1 years old, 
59,028; enrolled in public schools, 36,684. 
(p. 299) 
"The school law is very good, but in some 
cases not conscientiously carried out." — 
Commissioner, (p. 300) 



Observations Based on Table VI 

In the absence of statistical data, facts based upon indirect 
sources are found in Table VI. These facts, when coupled with 
others of common knowledge, adequately meet the needs for 
which the table has been arranged. The question, why admis- 
sion to college by certificate had never been taken up in the 
South previous to 1870, and indeed for years thereafter, may be 
at least partially answered with the aid of Tables II, III, and 



32 Admission to College by Certificate 

VI. Table II gives the conditions of the state universities, 
Table III the conditions of the independent and denominational 
colleges, and Table VI exhibits the status of public school systems. 
A very valuable addition to the information given in these tables 
would be a detailed account of private academies. Since no 
system of admission to college by certificate from academies 
alone has ever grown up in the United States, the discussion 
as to why this should be true will be left until later. The rea- 
sons that the dates and their accompanying occurrences are in- 
cluded in the years 1868, 1869, and 1870, are potent. No free 
public schools, in current acceptation, existed in the South previ- 
ous to the War. Every one of the Southern state universities 
named in Table I charged tuition. The idea of popular educa- 
tion was by no means widespread. The war practically closed 
all Southern educational institutions. 

As one of the earlier types of so-called public schools operated 
in the South, that of Georgia may be cited : " The public schools 
have been operated throughout the State under what is com- 
monly known as the ' poor school law ' administered by the 
board of education in each county, composed of the ordinary — 
an officer peculiar to this State and a commissioner, appointed 
by the judge of the Supreme court. Under this system teachers 
receive seven cents per day for each pupil in actual attendance; 
paid once per annum, at the end of the year. Salaried teachers 
are the exception."^^ 

The new public school systems were introduced into the South, 
to some extent, by outside influences. Their introduction was 
accompanied by the deep-seated and inflammable question of 
social equality between two widely different races. In some of 
the states school laws were passed providing for the education 
of Whites and Blacks in the same schools. Such laws brought 
public free schools into such ill-repute that years were required 
to remove the antipathy. 

Whatever factors may be omitted. Table VI answers the chief 
purpose for which it was arranged. It shows that the public 
primary and secondary school systems of the Southern states 
were either non-existent or in an extremely chaotic condition at 
the time under consideration. 



U. S. Com. Rept., 1870-71, Vol. 2, p. no. 



Educational Conditions in United States About iSjo 



33 



No. States 


Dates 


I . Arizona T. : 


1867, 


2. Colorado T. : 


1870, 


3. Dakota T.: 


1869, 




1870, : 


4. Idaho T. : 


1867- 



TABLE VII 

Primary and Secondary School Systems in the Mountain and 
Pacific Divisions of the United States, About 1870 

Mountain Division 

Facts 

"An act concerning common schools passed 
the legislature .... Arizona has never had 
any schools worth mentioning." — Com- 
missioner, (p. 318) 

"Though repeatedly sought for, but little 
school information has been received from 
this Territory." — Commissioner, (p. 318) 

Act to provide common schools approved, 
(p. 320) 
1870, Number of schools, 55; pupils enrolled, 1765. 

(P- 319) 

1868, Number of schools, 15; number of 
children 5 to 21 years old, 926; number 
attending school, 345. 

' ' Our school law is ambiguous and no material 
changes have been made in it of late, only 
to confuse the operations of the same." — 
Daniel Cram, Superintendent, (p. 321) 
1870, A superintendent in each Nation; District 
boards in charge of schools; 

"Two-thirds of the school population are 

without any education, or at least are not 

in attendance." — Commissioner, (p. 344) 

1864-1865, School law passed. Superintendent 

elected. 

1868, Superintendent reported conditions of schools 
as unfavorable; System criticised as not 
being adaptable to conditions, (pp. 323, 
324) 

No general school law and not a public 
school or school-house in the Territory." 
— Statement based on report of Hon. Wil- 
liam A. Pile, Governor of New Mexico, 
(p. 326) 

1869, Number of children, 4 to 16 years old, 
24,138; number in school, 10,618. Char- 
acter of school system not discernible from 
school laws. Probably tuition, per pupil, 
charged to pay teachers, (p. 328) 

1869, School law passed, but little progress made 
in establishing schools, (p. 336) 

Pacific Division 
1849, First public school in the state established in 
San Francisco. 

1851, First school law enacted by legislature. 

1852, School law revised, (p. 88) 
1869, Number of scholastics, 5 to 15 years old, 

112,743; number of schools, 1268; number 
of pupils enrolled, all ages, 73,754; number 
attending private schools, 16,273; number 
not in any school, 25,464; average daily 
attendance, 49,802. (p. 87) 
Two high schools in San Francisco, (p. 92) 



5. Indian T. : 



6. Montana T. : 



7. New Mexico T. : 1870, 



Utah T. : 



9. Wyoming T. : 



California : 



34 Admission to College by Certificate 

11. Nevada: 1868, Fourth annual report State Superintendent. 

Number of schools in the State, 39; num- 
ber of children, 6 to 18 years old, 3,293; 
number in public schools, 1661; number in 
private schools, 496; number not attend- 
ing school, 462. (p. 213) 

12. Oregon: 1870, Some schools established. No state board of 

education; no state superintendent. No 
statistical report made. (p. 268) 

13. Washington T. : 1870, No report. 

"We have no territorial commission or bureau 
as a head of the school system, through 
which the census of our schools can be 
gathered." — ^James Scott, Secretary of the 
Territory, (p. 333) 

Observations Based on Table VII 

An examination of the facts submitted in Table VII leads un- 
mistakably to the conclusion that not a single one of the terri- 
tories possessed an efficient system of primary and secondary 
schools in 1870. Although a state, Oregon ranked with the terri- 
tories educationally. California was the only state, either in the 
South or west of the Mississippi Valley, that could be credited 
with anything approximating a working system of lower schools. 
In that state less than one-half of the children were in daily at- 
tendance and 22 per cent were not enrolled in school at all. The 
final conclusion must be that on the hypothesis that admission 
to college by certificate presumes a lower system of schools upon 
which the higher system rests as a basis, with the possible ex- 
ception of California, the search for such lower system is in vain 
so far as the Rocky Mountain and Pacific divisions of the United 
States were concerned at the time under discussion. 



Educational Conditions in United States About i8yo 35 



TABLE Villi 

Primary and Secondary School Systems in the Middle West 
Division of the United States About 1870 



No. 


States 


Dates 
of 
Re- 
ports 


No. 

of 
Scho- 
lastics 


Ages 


No. 

of 

Public 

Schools 


No. 

of 

Private 

Schools 


Pupils 

in 
Public 
Schools 


Pupils 

in 
Private 
Schools 


Not 

in 

School 


1 
2 


Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 


1868 
1868 
1870 
1869 
1869 

1869 
1869 
1870 
1869 
1869 


833030 
S91661 
418168 
92517 
3 74744 

144414 
584026 

1028877 
398747 


6 to 21 
6 to 21 
5 to 21 
S to 21 
5 to 20 

5 to 21 

5 to 21 

5 to 21 
4 to 20 


107052 
8403 
67886 
1213 
49211" 

3194 
5307I* 

11918 

4742 


5843 

m 

1612 
707 

87" 
37I8 


706780 
4367366 
296138 
58681 
"about" 
269587 
102086 
249727 

740382" 
245435 


36912 
i8ii4 
8928 
27848 

1150 
17702 

9846 
15389 


^7% 
25% 
27% 

55% 

26% 
44% 


4 
5 

6 
7 
8 


Kansas 

Michiganfl 

Minnesota 

Missourfis 

Nebraskais 

Ohio . 


10 


Wisconsin 



J Statistics in this table were taken from U. S. Com. Rept., 1870-71, Vol. 
references in notes are to same. 

2 Number of graded schools, 634. (p. 112) 

3 Outside Chicago only 2 -J per cent of pupils in private schools, (p. 11 2) 



* In Indianapolis alone, (p. 127) 
•> 10991 in high schools, (p. 123" 



8 Number of graded schools, 221. (p. 139) 

7 Colleges and academies, 53 with 4728 students; "private and denominational schools," 
72 with 4200 pupils, (p. 132) 

8 " In select schools and colleges." (p. 141) 

* Free schools in operation less than one year. Previously had "rate" schools, (p. 185) 

10 236 "graded school districts." (p. 185) 

11 No report on private schools. 

12 Includes colleges, academies and primary schools. Not all reported, (pp. 196, 197) 

13 " The growth of public education by the State has been slow, and by forced methods, 
at times in advance of popular favor; and yet far behind the enlightened position of other 
states." (p. 202) 

1* Number of high schools, 63. (p. 202) 

15 After "many and repeated efforts" no report could be obtained, (p. 212) 
18 Includes normal schools and academies, colleges and imiversities, and seminaries. 
Not all reported, (p. 252) 

"Includes 12146 high school pupils, (p. 252) 

18 In Milwaukee alone. These 37 schools had 6365 pupils, (p. 304) 



Observations Based on Table VIII 

Table VIII is based on more satisfactory data than are Tables 
VI and VII. While full reports are not always given for pri- 
vate schools, enough figures are available to justify fairly re- 
liable estimates. In all of the states named in the table, except 
in Nebraska for which no report was given, systems of free 
public schools existed. However, at the times of the annual 
reports, the attendance was much below the scholastic enroll- 
ment. From the last column of the table, it may be seen that 
large numbers in the different states were not enrolled in school 
at all. The per cent of non-enrollment for the different states 
was calculated from the figures given in the table. The numbers 
of private schools in Illinois and Missouri seem large ; but when 
the numbers of pupils attending those schools are compared with 



36 



Admission to College by Certificate 



the numbers of pupils in the public schools, it is revealed that 
only 7 per cent of the pupils in Missouri, and 5 per cent in Illi- 
nois were in private schools. In the states of the Middle West 
the scholastic period was long. In five of the states the school 
period extended from 5 to 21 years of age; in two states from 
6 to 21 years of age; in one state from 5 to 20 years of age; 
and in one state from 5 to 20 years of age. 

The data submitted, when examined, lead to the belief that 
primary and secondary school systems were becoming fairly well 
established in the Middle West by 1870. 

TABLE IXi 

Primary and Secondary School Systems in the Northeastern 
Division of the. United States Until 1870 





Dates 


States 


of 




Reports 


Connecticut 


1870 


Delaware^ 




Maine 


1869 
1869 


Maryland* 


Massachusetts^ . 


1869 


New Hampshire 


1869 


New Jersey. . . . 
New York 


1869 


1869 


Pennsylvania... 


1869 


Rhode Island . . 


1868 


VermontB 


1869 



No. of 
Scho- 
lastics 



Ages 



No. of 


No. of 


Pupils in 


Public 


Private 


Public 


Schools 


Schools 


Schools 


1647 


? 


10S313 


4019 


? 


1352923 


1347 


? 


75402 


49S9 


526 


2473813 


2528 




69762 


1381 


351 


192001 


II7SO 


1491 


998664 


13936 




815753, 


630 




294773 


3089 


36 


76973'' 



Pupils in 
Private 
Schools 



125407 4 to 16 



269987 
788301 
240370 
1463299; 
9757S3 

76759! 



5 to 15 

4 to 14 

5 to 18 
5 to 21 



9583 



20386 



iThe data found in this table were compiled from U. S. Com. Rept., 1870-1871, Vol. 
2. The page references in the notes are to that volume. 

2 No general statistical report. Provisions for education same as before the War. Muni- 
cipalities might tax themselves for school purposes, or not, as they saw fit. (p. 14) 

3 Had "Summer" and "Winter" schools. The attendance given in the table is for 
"Winter" term. 

* Average attendance less than 34000. (p. 158) 
5 17s high schools; 45 incorporated academies, (p. 166) 

8 Schools in poor condition; 1600 schools, more than one-half of all, had an average 
attendance of less than 15 pupils, (pp. 291—292) 

^ The number reported in school evidently included pupils outside scholastic age. 

Observations Based on Table IX 

That Table IX is disappointing because of incompleteness 
must be admitted. Especially is the dearth of statistics con- 
cerning private schools regrettable. It would be a considerable 
factor in this study if accurate statistics could be presented con- 
cerning attendance in both public and private schools in this di- 
vision of states. Since the data are meager it will be necessary 
to make the most of them. 

The scholastic periods in at least four of the six New Eng- 
land states, as shown by the table, began with the child at 4 or 5 
years of age and continued until it was 14, 15 or 16 years old. 



Educational Conditions in United States About iSyo 37 

The periods began a year or two earlier but closed from 4 to 7 
years earlier than those of the Middle West. The average 
scholastic period for New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, 
and Connecticut, the four most populous states in New England, 
was 10^ years ; the corresponding period in nine of the Middle 
Western states was 15 2/3 years. Thus a difference in length 
of the scholastic period in the two sections of 5 1/6 years is ob- 
served. This is a material fact in the development of school 
systems. 

The systems in the Middle West comprised both primary and 
secondary schools, while the so-called public schools in New 
England were largely elementary. A quotation from the report 
of the schools of Providence, R. L, supports this view : " Only 
a small proportion of the number of pupils in the public schools 
ever go into the high schools, the great work of education be- 
ing accomplished in the grammar, intermediate and primary 
schools, the number of boys who complete the course is very 
small."^^ The public schools in New England were not supposed 
to lead to higher institutions of learning; another system of 
schools prepared students for college. Moreover, the so-called 
" free schools " of New England were not free schools in fact. 
" By the term * free schools ' was not meant a school free in 
the sense that our public schools are now free ; but a school un- 
restricted as to class of pupils who might attend, and endowed 
by grants of land, bequests of individuals, or allowance out of 
the common stock of the town, so as not to depend entirely upon 
tuition of scholars for the support of the school. "^^ The Con- 
necticut school law making state schools free was passed in 
1868. In New York the common schools were not " rendered 
absolutely free to all children in the state until 1867."^* 

The State Superintendent of Public Instruction, in New 
Jersey, in his annual report for 1869, states : " Six hundred and 
thirty-four schools are still to be made free." This meant that 
nearly one-half of New Jersey's so-called " free schools " were 
partly supported by tuition. That the " common schools," " free 
schools," and " public schools," as they were designated in the 
different states under consideration, were largely elementary 

'' U. S. Com. Rept., 1870-71, Vol. 2, p. 282. 

" Connecticut Report : U. S. Com. Rept., 1870-71, Vol. 2, p. 98. 

" U. S. Com. Rept., 1870-71, Vol. 2, p. 228. 



38 Admission to College by Certificate 

schools can be established by reference to the reports of state 
superintendents made in 1869 and 1870. The following quota- 
tion from the report of the State Superintendent, for 1869, 
makes clear the conditions in Pennsylvania with reference to 
the kind of schools supported by the state : " Except in the 
matter of authorizing school directors to grade the schools, 
where they can be graded, our school law makes no provision 
for the encouragement of higher education. A district may tax 
itself to establish and support a high school, but the State lends 
it no helping hand in so doing." 

The relation of the New England and Middle States to pri- 
vate institutions is expressed in the following statement taken 
from the report of the Commissioner of New York for 1870: 
" But the State does not monopolize the work of school instruc- 
tion, nor attempt to exclude others from it. On the contrary, 
outside and independent of its own public system, it tolerates 
unincorporated private schools, and, up to the present time, has 
chartered about 40 literary colleges and 420 academies. . 
These colleges and academies are to some extent regulated, as- 
sisted, and used by the State; but they are private corporations, 
organized by the voluntary act of their proprietors, and oper- 
ated on their account and at their pleasure. The State has no 
authority to fix the charges for tuition even to keep them in 
existence." 

The general conclusions to be drawn from Table IX will be 
found in the summary, at the close of this chapter. 

No Admission to Early American Colleges by CertiUcate and 
Reasons Why 

The failure of early American colleges to adopt any system 
of admission by certificate was due, in general, to two potent 
reasons. The first of these was a traditional belief in the effi- 
cacy of entrance examinations as a means of testing a student's 
ability to do college work. It is a fact too well known for de- 
bate that Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, and others of the 
26 colleges named in Table V have capitulated step by step or" 
are holding out against the certificating system to-day. The be- 
lief in examinations, as proper college admission tests, was' 



Educational Conditions in United States About iSyo 39 

originally based upon undebatable grounds — it was the only 
method consistent with the conditions. 

This belief in college entrance examinations was inherited 
largely from English colleges. There was no system of free 
government schools in England previous to 1870. English col- 
leges depended upon the " Latin schools " and the old " Public 
schools " for the preparation of their students. These prepara- 
tory schools were private institutions. They had endowments 
and governing boards, sometimes, but the standard of any school 
was largely the product of one man — ^the head-master. These 
schools had no closely outlined courses of study. The pupils 
were not held to any fixed regime. Efficiency in the different 
schools varied widely. Upon what basis, then, could the gradu- 
ates of these schools be admitted to college? Two methods 
might be used. Either the certificate of the head-master might 
be accepted or the candidate must be examined. Since these 
preparatory schools varied so widely in methods of control, 
efficiency of instruction, private interests and uncertainty of 
standards, and since there was no legal relation between the pre- 
paratory schools and colleges, the higher institutions did not 
think of placing their own standards in the hands of outside 
individuals, without any checks whatever; and so admission by 
examination prevailed. Entrance examinations in England were 
based upon the exigencies of educational conditions. 

The early American colleges were largely patterned after Eng- 
lish colleges. This fact not only affected the colleges but also 
determined the early types of secondary schools. " Latin 
schools " and private schools, similar to some extent to the Eng- 
lish preparatory schools, grew up alongside the early American 
colleges. But these private schools in America were, in the 
main, more unstable and precarious than the English schools. 
And so, while tradition influenced and largely determined the 
conditions of the early preparatory and collegiate institutions in 
the Northeastern part of the United States, these conditions in 
turn forced upon the higher and lower schools the same system 
of admission to college used in England. The early private 
schools were founded and conducted largely for private gain. 
Controlling boards were often lacking; the perpetuating in- 
fluence, known as popular opinion, which acts through school 



40 Admission to College by Certificate 

boards and continues schools even when one corps of teachers is 
succeeded by another, was absent. Courses of study, which 
would have enabled the colleges to judge somewhat of the work 
covered by candidates for admission, were either non-existent 
or so little used that they formed scant basis for judgment. Ex- 
cept in cases where denominational colleges conducted branch 
preparatory schools there was little connection of any kind be- 
tween the colleges and the preparatory institutions. The two 
sets of institutions were not connected parts of a system. While 
the lower schools usually strove to prepare some of their pupils 
for college the nature of their support and patronage brought 
together different grades of pupils. Much individual teaching 
was necessary. Individuals, and not classes, were picked out 
and prepared for college. How should these individuals be 
tested ? — in one way, by examination. 

If the assumption be true that, in order to have admission to 
college by certificate, there must be two parts connected in one 
system or two systems closely linked together, it may be readily 
seen that in the absence of either of these conditions no system 
of admission by certificate could properly exist in the early 
American colleges. 

Chapter Summary 

Theses announced in the beginning of the chapter: 

1. Admission to college by certificate presumes two separate 
educational systems ; or, two separate and well-defined parts of 
one and the same system. 

2. One of the two systems, or one of the two parts of the 
same system, is higher than the other ; and the higher system, or 
part, rests upon the lower as a basis. 

3. It is claimed that in the earlier days of the American col- 
leges there were two separate and distinct systems, that these 
two systems were independent of each other, and hence there 
was no system of admission from one to the other by certificate. 

4. Later, the two parts were united into one system and ap- 
peared together in the same institution ; but the two parts of the 
institution, the lower and the higher, were so blended together 
that no formal transfer from one to the other was found neces- 
sary. 

5. When state universities and state free school systems were 



Educational Conditions in United States About iSyo 41 

first established, they tended to function, for some time, as two 
separate and unrelated systems. 

6. The history of the evolution of the system of admission to 
college by certificate is also the history of an effort to unite two 
separate state systems into two closely related and mutually co- 
operative parts of one system. 

The facts shown in Table I pertain to the foundation of state 
universities and more especially to their reorganization in the 
last years of the period studied. Of the twenty-six state uni- 
versities founded before 1870 all but four were endowed, at 
some time, by the Federal Government. The first grants were 
made as early as 1804. From time to time thereafter, usually 
when they were admitted into the Union, the different states re- 
ceived lands for the founding of institutions of learning. The 
provision for the establishment of agricultural and mechanical 
colleges by the Morrill Land Grant Act, of July 2, 1862, gave 
a powerful impetus not only to the founding of new institutions 
but also to the awakening and reorganization of state univer- 
sities already in existence. To a considerable extent that act 
was instrumental in broadening the curricula of American 
colleges. 

The dates show that the Federal endowments usually led, at 
an early date, to educational acts of state legislatures. Some- 
times the openings of the universities were delayed for some 
years. The universities in the Southern states were the first 
founded but in general led more or less uncertain careers until 
they were finally closed by the exigencies of the Civil War. 
The second group to be organized were those of the Middle 
West; and from the dates of their foundations their movements 
were vigorous and promising. The Supplement to Table I 
shows the deleterious effects of the Civil War upon all state uni- 
versities, and the subsequent reorganization and expansion of 
practically every one of them between the close of the War 
and 1870. 

An important fact in connection with this study is brought 
out in Table II. Of the twenty-three state institutions, open to 
students, the only one not doing preparatory work was the Uni- 
versity of Michigan. The different universities either conducted 
preparatory departments or provided for preparatory classes to 



42 Admission to College by Certificate 

be taught by the college professors. At least one-half of all 
of the students in all of the state universities taken together 
were doing preparatory work. The point to be emphasized is 
that only one state university in the United States had a distinct 
need for a system of admission by certificate in 1870. 

The conclusions which may be reasonably drawn from Table 
III are: (i) that a goodly number of the 184 institutions re- 
porting as colleges were little more than elementary and pre- 
paratory schools; (2) that all but two of these 184 institutions 
were doing more or less preparatory work; (3) that more than 
one-half of all students reported were partly or fully below col- 
lege rank; and (4) that since Tables II and III represent all 
of the colleges in the twenty-six states having state universities, 
with the exception of the University of Michigan and two small 
colleges in the South, there was no need of admission to college 
by certificate in any of the state or private institutions in these 
states, for the reason that the colleges and universities were do- 
ing their own preparatory work. 

Table IV discloses facts, in states not having state univer- 
sities, concerning the same points considered in Tables II and 
III; but the facts themselves are very different. In the states 
and territories outside New England and New York, New 
Jersey and Pennsylvania, higher education made little showing. 
In five of the seven states not having state universities, and re- 
porting colleges of strength, students were admitted on examina- 
tion alone; no preparatory departments were attached. These 
conditions would tend to raise the question of admission to col- 
lege by certificate. Later, reasons are suggested for the fact 
that no such system was used. 

Two significant conditions are presented in Table V. Of the 
26 institutions represented all but two were founded by churches 
or church influences, A knowledge of early educational history 
immediately suggests the influences of English colleges on the 
early church colleges. The more important fact, so far as this 
study is concerned, is that, of the 26 institutions reporting no 
preparatory departments in 1870, only one, the University of 
Michigan, was a state university. 

From Table VI may be learned the real status of primary and 
secondary free schools in the Southern states for the years fol- 



Educational Conditions in United States About i8yo 43 

lowing the close of the Civil War. But one conclusion seems 
possible. Admission to college by certificate in the South had 
not become a need since there were no efficient systems of pri- 
mary and secondary schools. 

Combining facts presented in Tables I, II, and VI, the conclu- 
sion becomes patent that neither Southern colleges nor Southern 
school systems were yet developed either as two systems or as 
two well defined and correlated parts of one system; and that 
preparatory and collegiate classes were so mingled in the same 
institutions and in such a way that the question of admission to 
college by certificate did not become a practical problem. 

The facts given in Table VII are more meager than those 
given in Table VI. The conditions, however, in the Rocky 
Mountain and Pacific states and territories were less developed 
than those in the Southern states, and show in a more striking 
manner the utter lack of any need for raising the question at 
issue. 

Table VIII furnishes statistics upon which the following gen- 
eral statements are based: (i) the reports from the states of 
the Middle West were more nearly complete than those from 
other states; (2) the average scholastic period for nine states 
was 1 5 2/3 years, thus furnishing to the child ample time to 
complete both the elementary and high school courses under the 
supervision of the states; and (3) the public free school systems 
in most of the states of this division were becoming well estab- 
lished as shown by the attendance and the relatively small 
number of pupils reported in private schools. When facts found 
in Tables I, II, and VIII are considered together a further 
thought is suggested. With public free primary and secondary 
school systems rapidly growing in popularity and efficiency and 
with the state universities reorganizing and expanding their 
work, the idea of a closer relation between the two systems, fos- 
tered by the state, would, naturally and logically, come up for 
consideration. 

Table IX and the facts interpolated in the observations made 
upon it seem to support the following conclusions : ( i ) the state 
school systems in the Northeastern part of the United States 
were not all free in 1870, and some of them had been made free 
just previous to that date; (2) these systems were founded and 



44 Admission to College by Certificate 

supported for the purpose of furnishing elementary training and 
did not aspire to train students for colleges; (3) the scholastic 
period, with an average length of lo^^ years in four New Eng- 
land States, tended to militate against the development of a 
system of free state high schools; (4) in these states, there 
existed three separate parts of a complete school system — state 
elementary schools, private preparatory schools, and indepen- 
dent colleges; and (5) these three parts were so supported, or- 
ganized, and controlled that they were never united into one 
system, and hence the matter of admission to college by certifi- 
cate did not appear. 

The final recapitulation on the bases of the original theses may 
be made: 

In the early history of education in the United States, three 
separate and distinct parts of a complete system prevailed, — a 
state semi-free school system, a system of private elementary 
and secondary schools, and a system of independent colleges. 
These three systems were so supported, organized, and con- 
trolled that no system of admission to college by certificate was 
practicable. Later, when educational work began to develop in 
the South and West, elementary, secondary, and college classes 
were all found in one institution. These three classes of work 
were so confused or blended together that there was no need of 
a formal transfer from one department of work to another. When 
the states came to the development of state universities and state 
free school systems, and after certain progress had been made, 
the problem of the proper relations between the secondary- 
schools and the colleges became vital. That the question was 
first taken up in the Middle West, should seem strange to no 
one who will study educational conditions in the United States 
about 1870. Furthermore, that the University of Michigan, the 
only state university in the Middle West and indeed the only 
state university in the entire list of twenty-six institutions ad- 
mitting students by examination only, should be the first to at- 
tack the problem of admission to college by certificate, does not 
seem to have been a matter of chance but a perfectly logical re- 
sult of concrete educational conditions. 



CHAPTER III 

THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE SYSTEM 
Origin 

It was shown in the last chapter that the period following the 
close of the Civil War was marked by the organization and re- 
organization of state public school systems and state universities. 
Out of that movement arose a new system of admission to 
college. 

Before taking up the different steps in the evolution of this 
new system, as found in the records of nine state universities, it 
may be well to notice briefly the feeling of dissatisfaction with 
private preparatory schools, the source from which the new 
system emanated and the immediate conditions attending its in- 
troduction into the University of Michigan. 

Evidence may be adduced to support the belief that the acade- 
mies, which supplanted the earlier Latin grammar schools, were 
never satisfactory feeders to the colleges. Furthermore, at 
this time the old regime colleges saw the conditions and did what 
they could to better the situation. Under the heading, " Classical 
Study in the West,"^ Professor H. K. Edson made an appeal 
for the perpetuation and organization of " Private Academies." 
The claim was advanced that public high schools could never 
adequately prepare students for college. Again, in 1873, Presi- 
dent James McCosh, of Princeton University, discussed the need 
of better secondary schools.^ 

His strictures upon the academies are severe. After giving 
data showing the numbers of academies, instructors, and stu- 
dents in 1872, he states that the academies had never prepared 
any considerable number of students for college. The charge 
was made that many of the so-called academies were boarding 
schools, only accessible to the rich, and that " not a few of those 
at the head of these establishments have no higher ambition than 

^ Proc. N. E. A., 1871, pp. 160-164. 

' Proc. N. E. A., Vol. 3, 1873, " Upper Schools,"— James McCosh. 

45 



46 Admission to College by Certificate 

to earn a livelihood for the present and in the course of years 
lay up a competency to make them independent." 

The meeting before which President McCosh read his paper 
on " Upper Schools " appointed a committee on " Intermediate 
Schools " to report the next year. The report^ was read by the 
Chairman, Reverend George P. Hays, and contained statements 
bearing directly on this study. He stated ; " The need ( for in- 
termediate schools) is universal and is recognized by the mass 
of our educational men." Four agents for preparing students 
for college were named : preparatory schools attached to colleges, 
academies, high schools, and private tutors. It was pointed out 
that the first and last were merely temporary. The report runs : 
" It is too much overlooked that the colleges and common schools 
are closely related to each other. . . . As a result, the high 
school affiliates with the common school, and the academy with 
the college; and the college and common school are utterly in- 
different to their mutual interests." The further claim was 
made that the free school system had brought about the decline 
of the academies in two ways: (i) by drawing off pupils; (2) 
by engendering dislike to paying tuition sufficient to secure good 
teachers. An appeal followed for the endowment of academies 
in which it was claimed that, " an efficient academy, dependent 
solely on its tuition for its maintenance is scarcely to be found." 

President Noah Porter, of Yale University, under the title, 
" Preparatory Schools for Colleges and University Life,"* fur- 
ther reflects conditions, especially as they existed in New Eng- 
land, and saves himself by the use of the word " universally " 
when he says : " We are not required to think or speak lightly of 
any of the public high schools to justify the views for which 
w^e contend, that the friends of college education cannot rely 
permanently, and certainly not universally, upon these schools 
as training places for college and university students." The 
matter of affiliation is suggested but he adds : " We cannot re- 
gard such an arrangement as either practicable or desirable." He 
then suggests that each college provide its own feeders. 

A careful study of the conditions prevailing in the period 

about 1870 leads to the conclusions, that private academies had 

failed to meet the demand for college preparatory schools, that 

' Proc. N. E. A., 1874, p. 9. 
* Proc. N. E. Ao 1874, p. 42. 



Origin and Evolution of the System 47 

there was a state of unrest on the part of the colleges and the 
people at large, and that the state free schood systems not only 
had their own inherent advantages as assets, but found in the 
field as their only competitors the partially discredited academies. 

Professor B. A. Hinsdale, in an article entitled " The Diploma 
System of Admission to the University of Michigan,"^ wrote: 
" The University of Michigan was the name given by the char- 
ter" of 1817 to the whole system of public or state instruction as 
the same should be organized in the Territory of Michigan." 
He suggests that this idea was borrowed from France, a plaus- 
ible declaration, at least when viewed in the light of known con- 
ditions. Napoleon, nine years before, had organized the French 
educational institutions upon this plan.® 

The author, cited, quotes from a Decret of March 17, 1808: 
" Public instruction throughout the empire is confined exclu- 
sively to the university." The entire Republic of France is di- 
vided into seventeen divisions called academies. At the head of 
each academy stands a university which has more or less control 
over all grades of education within its territory. It will be seen 
that these conditions correspond with the statements made by 
Hinsdale. 

When the Board of Regents met, twenty years later, to or- 
ganize the University of Michigan, the ideas of 1817 controlled.'^ 
On June 21, 1837, the Board decided to establish eight branches 
although there was as yet no parent institution. The first one 
of these branches was opened at Pontiac in September of that 
year. The writer can confirm Farrand's statement : " The re- 
cords of the Board of Regents for 1837 and for several succeed- 
ing years are largely concerned with transactions in regard to 
the branch schools." One by one these branches were discon- 
tinued, until 1848, as recorded in the preceding chapter of this 
study, when all support was finally withdrawn. From 1848 to 
1 87 1 the University was only indirectly interested in preparatory 
schools. 

But Michigan was not the only state to adopt the French plan. 

" Proc. North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, 
1896, p. SI. 
^Farrington, French Secondary Schools, p. 67. 
''Farrand, History of the University of Michigan, p. 27. 



48 Admission to College by Certificate 

The " Guyer Act,"^ providing for the organization of the Univer- 
sity of Missouri, planned for the estabHshment of academies and 
seminaries over the State as branches of the University. Pro- 
visions were made for the incorporation of academies already in 
existence. No attempt was ever made, however, to carry out the 
plan, and four years later that part of the law pertaining to the 
establishment of academies and seminaries was repealed. 

The influence of English conditions upon preparatory schools 
and colleges, especially along the Atlantic coast, was discussed 
in the preceding chapter ; the French system became, for a time, 
the model of two of the states under consideration; it remains 
now to point out the fact that President Frieze had neither the 
English system nor the French system in mind when he made 
his report which later led to the adoption of the method of ad- 
mission to college by certificate. In his report, dated September 
20, 1870, he used the following statements : " If a genuine uni- 
versity is ever to exist, either here or anywhere else in America, 
it is to be built on a much higher scholarship in the preparatory 
schools and academies. These must be advanced to the char- 
acter of gymnasiums, and they must do a large part of the work 
of our present colleges, before a university shall be possible. 
The remedy lies in raising step by step the require- 
ments for admission to the academic department, not only in 
the classics and mathematics, but in every branch of gymnasial 
study until at least the local high schools shall have occupied 
their proper ground, and the university shall thus be enabled to 
take on its true character and functions." Not only in the quota- 
tion given but throughout his entire report, the words " gym- 
nasium," " high school," and " university " are used in such rela- 
tion as to leave little or no doubt that the German school system, 
and not the French or English, was held in mind. But what- 
ever may have been the goal toward which President Frieze was 
steering, he was in the midst of conditions pregnant with de- 
mands and opportunities. Some of these conditions he sets forth 
in his report under the heading; "Advantages possessed by 
Michigan in its High Schools." It seems relevant to quote from 
his report as follows : " I cannot but think that there are exist- 



® Session Acts of Missouri, 1839, pp. 176-179. Cited by James I. Malott 
in an unpublished thesis : " The University of Missouri as a Centralizing 
Factor in the Educational Activities of the State." 



Origin and Evolution of the System 49 

ing within this state the conditions which, seized upon now and 
carefully watched and improved, will in the end develop the 
gymnasium in its proper place, and secure to us the true univer- 
sity. One public high school of the state at the close of the 
present year has sent into our academic department a class of 
thirty-five students, well prepared. The high schools of the state 
in general are yearly ceming into more intimate relations to the 
University, and sending increasing numbers to its halls." After 
discussing at some length the great advantages of cooperation be- 
tween the university and the schools in raising educational stan- 
dards the report continues : " Most fortunately, in this effort 
we are assured of the hearty sympathy and cooperation of the 
State Union and High Schools." 

In the quotations given in the last paragraph three points are 
made. First, President Frieze was working for higher scholastic 
standards and was holding in mind the German conditions; 
second, he realized that favorable opportunities were at hand; 
third, there was a desire for cooperation between the schools and 
the university. 

Two more points should be considered before leaving this re- 
port. It was not the plan of a single man; and the plan itself 
did not contemplate the admission of students, from the high 
schools, without being examined by members of the Faculty of 
the University. The following quotation is given to establish 
these points : "And, as a means of strengthening, consolidating, 
and elevating the whole state system, some of our best educators, 
both in the local schools and in the university, have proposed 
that a commission of examiners from the academic faculty 
should visit annually such schools as may desire it, and give cer- 
tificates to those pupils who may be successful in their examina- 
tions, entitling them to admission without further examination, to 
the university."^ 

Recapitulation 

I. When the question of admission to college by certificate 
was first taken up by the University of Michigan there was a 
great need felt throughout the entire country for more and better 
secondary schools. The academies had never served to any con- 
siderable extent as college preparatory schools. There was a 

* Report of President H. S. Frieze to Bd. of Reg., Sept. 20, 1870. 



5© Admission to College by Certificate 

strong feeling, especially among those connected with the in- 
dependent colleges, that the state high schools could never ade- 
quately prepare students for college in any considerable num- 
bers. 

2. At least two attempts were made to copy the school sys- 
tem of France. In both cases failure attended the efforts. 

3. That President Frieze had fully in mind the hope of de- 
veloping a state school system in Michigan similar to that ex- 
isting in Germany was clearly shown by his reports to the Board 
of Regents. 

4. The system of admission to college proposed by President 
Frieze, and seemingly approved by the high schools, was to be 
based upon examinations set by members of the Academic 
Faculty of the University, 

Evolution of the System 

A Critical Study of the Records of Nine State Universities with 
Respect to the Origin and Development of Their Systems of 
Admitting Students on Certificate. ^° 

The purpose of this part of the study is to ascertain as nearly 
as possible the important steps taken by the different institutions 
in developing their respective systems of certification. With this 
object in view the following factors will be considered: (i) the 
influences of the schools and the colleges upon each other with 
reference to changes in entrance requirements; (2) the appear- 
ance and recognition of new subjects; (3) the effects of the 
elimination of preparatory departments upon the schools and col- 
leges; and (4) the relation between the increase in the number 
of accredited schools and the enrollment of students in the 
universities. 

First Decade of the Certiii eating System 
1871 

On November 14, after President Frieze made his report to 
the Board of Regents; September 20, 1870, the Faculty of the 
University of Michigan appointed a committee " to see if some 

" The facts here presented were gathered from the records of the 
Boards of Control, from the Minutes of the Faculties, and from the 
Catalogues of the institutions named, and for the years indicated. Verifi- 
cations may be made by dates and context. 



Origin and Evolution of the System 51 

system cannot be devised by which the high schools of the state 
can be brought into closer connection with the university " ; and 
on February 27, of the following year, the plan recommended 
was approved. Then^ followed notice to the schools, the pre- 
paration of questions to be answered by school boards, applica- 
tions of schools, the appointment of visitors from the Faculty, 
and on June 19,1871, " on motion the secretary was authorized 
to inform the superintendents of the high schools at Adrian, Jack- 
son, Flint and Ann Arbor, that for the present year students will 
be admitted to the university on their certificates stating that they 
have studied all that is required for admission and are qualified 
to enter," At this meeting a schedule of inquiries for the use 
of visitors was submitted. The motion quoted specifies that the 
schools are accredited " for the present year " and that the cer- 
tificates must state not only that the applicants have studied " all 
that is required " but that they " are qualified to enter." Thus 
were introduced two vital questions: For what time shall a 
school be accredited? What responsibility shall be placed upon 
superintendents, principals and teachers in judging a pupil's 
ability to do college work beyond the mere fact that he makes 
passing grades in the high school? 

While Michigan was extending to the high schools the hand 
of cooperation, the attitude of President W. N. Folwell and the 
University of Minnesota should not pass unnoticed. The An- 
nouncement for 1870-1871 contains the following statement: 
" Notice is hereby given that, after the close of the academic 
year 1870-1871, only the Latin course will be offered in this 
school. It is part of the plan of organization that the studies, 
not only of the preparatory school, but also of the collegiate de- 
partment, be dropped off as fast as the high schools can take the 
work. The university begins always wherever they leave off." 
The plan of organization of the university is represented by the 
following diagram : 



Prep. School 



Collegiate Dept. 



Agr., etc. 

Medicine 

Sci., Lit. and Arts 

Law 



52 Admission to College by Certificate 

According to the notice quoted it was intended that the pre- 
paratory and collegiate work should ultimately be done by the 
high schools. Here again may be noted the influence of the Ger- 
man system. The determination to limit the preparatory work 
to the Latin course, as quoted, marked the beginning of a move- 
ment by the University of Minnesota not only to eliminate pre- 
paratory work from the university but to build up an efficient 
system of free public high schools in the state. 

1872 

Within the year 1872, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wis- 
consin dealt directly or indirectly with the high schools. 

Michigan sent notices to the schools stating that members of 
the faculty would be glad to visit them on request ; the time for 
which a high school diploma would be honored after graduation 
was limited to three months; and accredited schools were re- 
quired to make application annually for inspection. " The privi- 
lege of admission on diploma is 4imited to public schools in 
Michigan." In order for a school to be credited it was necessary 
for it to teach all of the subjects required for admission to one 
of three courses. While it was originally intended that members 
of the university faculty should hold formal examinations in the 
schools, it does not appear that the plan was carried out. The 
special notice printed in the Catalogue for 1871-1872 contains 
the statement that a committee will visit the schools, make re- 
ports to the faculty, and " if the faculty shall be satisfied from 
such report that the preparatory courses of study in the school 
thus visited embrace all the subjects required for admission to 
the university, and are taught by competent instructors, then the 
graduates from such preparatory courses will be admitted to the 
Freshman class of the university without examination." 

The second step taken by the University of Minnesota in be- 
half of local high schools was recorded when the Board of Re- 
gents, August 3, 1872, directed the faculty not to admit any ap- 
plicant " to the Latin school coming from those districts of the 
state in which high schools now exist, and that a certificate from 
the county superintendent, or principal teacher of the district 
shall be sufficient evidence of the fact." 

The state legislature of Wisconsin passed a law, approved 



Origin and Evolution of the System 53 

March, 1872, providing that graduates of graded schools who 
should pass examinations at such schools, " satisfactory to the 
Faculty of the University for admission into the sub-freshman 
class and college classes of the university," would be entitled to 
free tuition. The faculty adopted regulations to govern the ex- 
aminations. The subjects and numbers of questions to be sub- 
mitted were designated. The questions were presumably set by 
the principals, although this fact is not definitely settled until 
three years later. The papers were to be graded by the prin- 
cipals and the questions and papers were then to be forwarded to 
the President of the University. The papers were to be accom- 
panied by a certificate stating that they were prepared by grad- 
uates of the schools and that the examinations were fairly con- 
ducted. 

On June 21, 1872, the Board of Regents of the University of 
Iowa passed a resolution permitting the faculty to admit stu- 
dents from schools and academies without examination; but ex- 
actly four years passed before any plans were announced in com- 
pliance with the resolution. 

1873 
The first state board of education in Indiana was a political 
organization composed of certain state officers. In 1865, the 
board was changed to an educational body including the Gover- 
nor, Superintendent of Public Instruction, President of Indiana 
University, and the superintendents of the three largest cities in 
the state. In 1873, A. M. Gow was superintendent of schools at 
Evansville; and, by virtue of that fact, was a member of the 
State Board of Education. For some years the question of closer 
relations between the university and high schools of the state 
had been a subject of " earnest and protracted discussion in 
state teachers' and collegiate associations, in state institutes, in 
educational conventions and the State Board of Education." On 
April 9, 1873, a committee of the State Board of Education 
presented a resolution recommending to the authorities of the 
university that they admit students to the Freshman and Sopho- 
more classes on certificate. For some reason, not explained in 
the minutes, the resolution was tabled. On May 5 following, as 
the minutes show, the State Board passed a resolution recom- 
mending to the Faculty of the University that they so modify 



54 Admission to College by Certificate 

the preparatory course of study as to admit students to the 
Freshman class without any knowledge of Greek. Professor 
Gow was requested to present the resolution to the Faculty and 
Trustees at their meeting in June. Two days later, at a meeting 
of superintendents and principals held in Indianapolis, the matter 
of closer relations between the high schools and the university 
was considered. A plan was approved at the meeting and Gow 
was requested to present it to the Trustees of the University. 
On July 1 8, 1873, the Trustees passed an order providing that 
preparatory students and college students should not be allowed 
to recite in the same classes, and that students should be admitted 
to the Freshman class on certificate from certain schools to be 
named by the State Board of Education. These details are given 
to throw light on the influences involved in the introduction of 
the certificate system in Indiana. General agitation, action of 
the State Board, recommendations of superintendents and prin- 
cipals, and final action by the Trustees represent the steps taken. 
The attitude of the faculty is not divulged in the minutes, but 
it seems probable that the President of the University was favor- 
able to the movement since his name is signed to the first resolu- 
tion presented to the State Board of Education. 

The matter of greatest importance is that a body outside the 
University, the State Board of Education, is designated to select 
the schools from which certificates are to be received. It should 
not be overlooked, however, that the President of the University 
was a member of the selecting board. 

In 1873, the University of Illinois made its first move toward 
admission by certificate by providing that entrance examinations 
might be held by county superintendents. The questions and in- 
structions for holding the examinations were furnished by the 
University, but the language of the announcement implies that 
the papars were to be graded and the certificates issued by the 
county superintendent ; for, we read, " those who pass creditably, 
will, when they present the superintendent's certificate to that 
effect, be admitted to the university classes. They will pay their 
fees, but their matriculation papers will be withheld until they 
shall have passed the regular examinations of the first term of 
their attendance." This method of admission, designated by 
" County Superintendent's Certificate," adds a new phase in that 



Origin and Evolution of the System 5 5 

neither the University Facuhy, the instructors of the students, 
nor a general board, but one man, who might know Httle of uni- 
versity standards and who might have no personal knowledge of 
the candidates, was entrusted with the certification. The Faculty 
required that, in case the applicant was not known by the super- 
intendent, letters of introduction should be presented. It must 
also be noted that the applicants were practically admitted to the 
University on trial. 

1874 

Entrance by teacher's certificate is suggested in connection with 
the announcement of the University of Ohio in the catalogue for 
1873-1874. The following paragraphs are quoted: "For ad- 
mission to the college, students must possess a competent knowl- 
edge of the branches taught in the common schools. 

" If it be asked what is a competent knowledge of these 
branches, it may be answered that the candidate should certainly 
have knowledge enough of them to entitle him to a teacher's cer- 
tificate from a County Board of Examiners. 

" It is expected that graduates of high schools will often be 
able to enter the second year of the prescribed course." 

While it is not stated that students would be admitted on 
teacher's certificates it seems to be implied. It is a well estab- 
lished fact that, later, admission by teacher's certificate became a 
popular method in some universities. 

1875 

A movement bearing indirectly on the question was the in- 
dorsement of " Free Town High Schools " by the Board of Re- 
gents of the University of Wisconsin, January 20, 1875. 

A somewhat more significant step was taken by the Regents 
of the University of Minnesota, on May 3rd of the same year, 
when it passed a resolution providing for a committee, " to re- 
port to the Board some method by which the high schools and 
academies of the state may be able to furnish the necessary pre- 
paration required by students to fit them for entrance to the 
regular courses of the University with a view to relieving that 
institution from all elementaiy work." The committee was also 
requested to suggest proper legislative action for bringing about 
the desired conditions. On December 22, following, a report was 



56 Admission to College by Certificate 

made and another committee was constituted, " to confer with 
the proper committee of the legislature upon the subject of the 
report." 

Although Indiana had prescribed rules for commissioning high 
schools in 1873, no provisions seem to have been made for in- 
spection, and on October i, 1875, the minutes of the state board 
show that provisions were made for visitation. It does not ap- 
pear that the provisions yielded immediate results. 

Michigan, within the year, requested high schools certifying 
students to have senior classes review algebra and geometry; 
and one school was restrained from certifying students " with 
whose qualifications the actual teachers are not personally ac- 
quainted." 

The contributions of the year, in the cases of Minnesota and 
Wisconsin looked to legislative enactment, and in Indiana and 
Michigan to perfecting systems already in operation. 

1876 

The resolution of the Board of Regents of the University of 
Iowa, passed in 1872, with reference to certification, did not bear 
fruit; and, in 1876, another resolution followed. This time the 
movement was instigated by a resolution emanating from the 
Faculty. One point of interest in the resolution, although some- 
what obscure, is found in the following wording : " the resolu- 
tion . . . relating to the admission to the university of 
students duly certified by teachers of high schools, such teachers 
to be selected by the Faculty or Regents of the university. . 

." The matter of accrediting teachers, and not schools, is 
suggested. This question has since arisen at different times. 
Whether it was the idea here to give to certain teachers in schools 
the right to certificate in their own subjects or whether the word 
'" schools " should appear instead of " teachers " has not been 
determined. The final resolution of the board gives the right of 
certification to the principal of the school. 

Provisions for certification were passed by the Faculty of the 
University of Wisconsin September 25, 1876. Later in the year, 
the faculty recommended to the Board of Regents that prepara- 
tory work be entirely thrown back upon the high schools, the 
change to take place within the next two years. The attitude 



Origin and Evolution of the System 57 

on the part of the schools and the university toward the suggested 
plans was declared to be that of mutual good will and co- 
operation. 

The University of Illinois took a step backward in 1876 by 
opening a preparatory department. To the provision for 
" County Superintendent's Certificates," already in operation, 
principals of high schools were permitted to examine students for 
admission to the preparatory classes. 

In contrast with the opening of the preparatory department in 
Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin were trying to get rid of pre- 
paratory work and were striving diligently to build up high 
schools. 

A work of more than passing importance of the year was the 
appointment of a committee by the Faculty of the University of 
Michigan to investigate and report the relative ranks of students 
admitted on examination as compared with those admitted on 
certificate. This was the first inventory of results. A detailed 
report was made but is not contained in the Faculty minutes. 
The following significant statement does occur under date of 
April 10, 1876 : " The Chairman, in summing up, remarked that 
the table gave as good a show in favor of the diploma students 
as of the examination students." 

1877 
In accordance with a resolution passed by the Board of Re- 
gents November 13, 1877, the Faculty of the University of Illi- 
nois took two steps in the matter of certification. It has already 
been mentioned that arrangements prevailed for the acceptance 
of " County Superintendent's Certificates " by the preparatory 
department. Arrangements are now made for the selection of 
" Examining Schools." Certain schools, one or more in each 
county, to be designated by the Faculty, were empowered to set 
questions and hold examinations but the papers were to be sent 
to the university for final reading. Another list of schools was 
to be designated "Accredited High Schools.^' These schools 
might certificate students " to any of the colleges for which their 
studies prepared them." The appointment continued " as long 
as the work of the school " was " found satisfactory." Here 



58 Admission to College by Certificate 

appears to be added the factor of affiliation for an unlimited 
period. 

The only other matter which seems worthy of notice, this year, 
was the resolution of the Board of Regents of the University 
of Minnesota, dated December 21st, a part of which follows: 
" Resolved, That His Excellency, the Governor be and he is 
hereby respectfully requested to embody in his message to the 
State Legislature an emphatic recommendation that provision 
be made by law to encourage the formation of high schools, in 
the counties where they are not established, to articulate with 
the curriculum of the university." 



The question of refusing to admit students to the University 
of Wisconsin, who could secure the same instruction in their 
own districts, came before the Board of Regents June 19, 1878; 
and, for some reason, failed to pass. Attention is called to this 
for the purpose of stressing the fact that in several states the 
greatest cause of complaint on the part of high schools against 
the universities was that the continuation of preparatory work 
by the universities militated heavily against the development of 
local high schools. In striking contrast with the action of 
the Wisconsin Board, the following resolution of the Minne- 
sota Board, dated December 28th of the same year, may be 
cited : " Resolved further, That this Board will fully sustain 
the Faculty in their efforts to maintain and advance the stan- 
dard of secondary scholarship irrespective of the number of 
students and of graduates." 

1879 

The University of Ohio had been receiving students from the 
elementary schools of the state for some years. The President, 
in his annual report to the Board of Regents for the scholastic 
year ending in 1879, urged that such arrangements be made as 
would enable a transition from the high schools to the college 
such as then " maintained between the college and the country 
schools." 

In the Catalogue of the University of Wisconsin for 1878- 
1879, the announcement appears to the effect that schools would 
be expected to bear the expenses of visitation. This matter led 



Origin and Evolution of the System 59 

later to dissatisfaction and friction in some states before the 
financial burden was shifted from the schools to the univer- 
sities. 

Certain developments in the practical administration of the 
system in Indiana, this year, are indicated by the appearance of 
resolutions providing that certificates must show that students 
have completed all of the required work in the schools from 
which they come, and that principals may not examine other 
than their own students. 

1880 

The Wisconsin catalogue for 1879- 1880 contains this self- 
explanatory notice : " Examination by papers prepared in the 
graded schools of the state, having been found unsatisfactory, 
is discontinued." There also occurs in the same catalogue an 
advertisement of the Madison High School, one statement of 
which is to the effect that students recommended by the prin- 
cipal will be admitted to the university without examination. In 
this statement is found the idea of using the privilege of cer- 
tification as an advertising asset, a factor which, at all times, 
has been a serious problem in connection with certification. 

Ohio now joins the list of certificating institutions with an 
entirely new method of selecting schools. A paragraph from 
the minutes of the Board of Trustees, dated April 20, 1880, sets 
forth the plan ■ " Resolved, first, That graduates of high schools 
in cities of this state whose population equaled or exceeded 
5000 at the last census (1870) shall be admitted to Freshman 
standing in the various courses of the college; provided, that 
in cases where the course of study, pursued by such graduate, 
does not include all the studies required as preparatory to the 
course elected, such student shall be required to pass examina- 
tion in any or all such studies as are not included." 

In 1880, by resolution of the Board of Regents the Univer- 
sity of Minnesota admitted students on certificate to the " sub- 
freshman class." This same year a petition was received from 
the Principal of the Minneapolis High School asking that his 
students be admitted to the college classes without examination. 

This same year the University of Michigan again took up an 
investigation concerning the records made by " diploma stu- 



6o Admission to College by Certificate 

dents." After a most thorough study, " an extended report " 
was made. That report will be considered in a later part of 

this study. 

Second Decade of the Certificating System 
1881 

The Indiana Faculty which had restricted certificates in 1879 
to those who had finished the course revised the order by the 
following announcement in 1881 : " Students who come from 
Commissioned preparatory schools, not having completed their 
preparatory studies, and who wish to enter the college classes 
as conditioned or select students, can do so only upon the writ- 
ten recommendation of the principal and faculty of the prepara- 
tory school from which they come." 

On March 3, 1881, a law, passed by the legislature of Minne- 
sota, providing for a high school board, was approved. The 
board met May 2nd, following, and effected an organization 
with the Governor of the State, as President ; the Superinten- 
dent of Public Instruction became Secretary, and the Presi- 
dent of the State University was made inspector of schools. It 
will be recalled that the authorities of the state university had 
been working for some such steps for ten years. It is recorded 
in the faculty minutes, five days later, that: "A committee was 
appointed to cooperate with the President in arranging a course 
of study for the high schools receiving aid from the State." 
This would tend to connect the university directly with the 
schools. 

1882 

The problem of removing conditions has been one of moment. 
The first regulation encountered regarding this question appears 
in the faculty minutes of the University of Michigan under date 
of September 25, 1882. The announcement was made that con- 
ditions for admission must be removed within a year (" instead 
of by the first of December as printed on admission paper ") or 
the student's collegiate work must stop until deficiencies were 
made up. 

Minnesota seems to have taken her first step backward in the 
matter of supporting, and cooperating with, the high schools, 
when the faculty, September 5, 1882, two years after providing 



Origin and Evolution of the System 6i 

for certification, recorded the following resolution : " Resolved, 
That the present rule authorizing the admission of high school 
graduates upon certificate of their principals be rescinded after 
the close of the year 1882-1883." The reasons for this action 
become apparent in the minutes of the following year. 

Indiana announced in the catalogue of 1881-1882 that: "Can- 
didates for the Freshman Class, not members of a commissioned 
high school, may be examined by any county superintendent 
who holds a commission from the university for that purpose. 
In all such cases the questions are prepared by the university, 
and the answers are graded by the university." This plan dif- 
fered from the one adopted in Illinois nine years before, in that, 
in the case of Illinois, the county superintendent read the papers 
and issued the certificate. Here the superintendent merely held 
the examination and transmitted the papers to the university. 

1883 

A matter of more than passing importance came before the 
Faculty of the University of Michigan, May 7, 1883, in the form 
of a committee report. Michigan had been admitting students 
from Michigan high schools on certificate for twelve years. The 
schools had prospered and the University was gaining in repu- 
tation. Naturally high school graduates of other states would 
be attracted to Ann Arbor. This happened and the question of 
admitting students from high schools of other states became 
pressing. A committee, composed of Charles Kendall Adams, 
Alexander Winchell, and Isaac H. Denmon, was appointed to 
consider the subject of admission of students. The whole matter 
seemed to hinge upon the visitation of schools outside the state. 
The committee decided that it did not seem practicable to at- 
tempt to visit schools in other states. It was then confronted 
with a dilemma. To refuse to admit students from other states 
on certificate would keep many away; to admit students on cer- 
tificate from schools not visited would be a discrimination 
against the home schools. After making an analysis of the en- 
tire situation and after using in one paragraph the following 
language, " That the Diploma System has been of service in 
binding the schools of the state to the university, we have no 
doubt. That it has increased the number of our students, we 



62 Admission to College by Certificate 

see no reason for believing," the committee recommended that 
certificates be accepted from high schools without visitation; 
and that the principal or superintendent signing a certificate 
should assume " the entire responsibility for the proper prepara- 
tion of such student." The recommendation continued : " Stu- 
dents received on certificate will be regarded as on probation 
during the first semester, and any who may be found unqualified 
to go on with the class will be dropped." This report was made 
a special order of business ; and although considered it was not 
disposed of until the next year. 

" The propriety of classifying accepted schools " was con- 
sidered by the University of Iowa this year. No action was re- 
ported, but the question will be of interest in a later discussion. 

To understand the records of the Faculty of the University 
of Minnesota, henceforth, they must be placed alongside the 
minutes of the High School Board. It will be recalled that the 
University, in 1882, announced that after the close of that 
scholastic year the certificates of high school principals would no 
longer be received. The Catalogue for 1882-1883 contains the 
following declaration : " Certificates of the State High School 
Board are accepted and the holders are excused from examina- 
tion in the studies named therein. No other certificates are 
now recognized." To understand the full significance of this 
statement it must be recalled that the President of the Univer- 
sity was the examiner of the High School Board. Here the 
university shifts the responsibility of certification. The High 
School Board conducted regular set examinations in the schools 
and issued certificates in different branches to successful ap- 
plicants. These were the certificates which the university pro- 
posed to accept for admission. While these examinations were 
conducted under the auspices of the High School Board they 
were probably little less than university examinations, since 
they were supervised by the President of the University. 

1884 

The Faculty of the University of Michigan, as previously 
noted, was considering the advisability of accrediting schools 
without visitation. The problem continued to be an important 
question through the first part of the year 1884. 



Origin and Evolution of the System 63 

The minutes do not give in full the solution of the question 
but it is evident that the visitation of schools was continued. 

In 1884, the Board of Regents of the University of Texas, 
which institution had been opened the previous year without a 
preparatory department, felt the need of preparatory schools. 
At the June meeting, the Board of Regents took up the matter 
of establishing high schools which were to be " subsidiary to the 
university/' After different meetings, and much discussion, 
the conclusion was reached that the establishment of such 
schools was " not within the powers of the Board of Regents 
of the University." The Board then turned to the State Board 
of Education, and after expressing the belief that " the greatest 
obstacle to a very large attendance (at the university) is to 
be found in the want of preparatory high schools throughout 
the state," recommended that new high schools be established 
and advised that such rules and regulations be made as to lead 
not only the new schools, to be established, but those already 
in existence to so adjust their courses as to prepare students for 
admission to the Freshman class. The recommendation closed 
with the words : "All high schools public and private which 
may conform to the system of the university should have the 
power to issue certificates of proficiency or graduation, which 
shall entitle the holder thereof to admission to all of the schools 
of the university without preliminary examination." 

1885 

The attitude toward the first high schools accredited by the 
University of Texas, in 1885, is suggested by the terms, " Sub- 
sidiary High Schools," and "Auxiliary Schools," by which they 
were designated. 

The State Board of Education in Indiana issued a circular, 
which was published in the University Catalogue for 1884- 1885, 
containing the statement : " Certificates of partial work, or 
even graduates from courses other than those preparatory for 
the university, cannot be accepted." Changes in superintendent, 
principal, or course of study were announced as sufficient rea- 
sons for withdrawing commissions. Schools were required to 
submit evidence, by January ist of each year, that no such 
change had occurred. 



64 Admission to College by Certificate 



The High School Board of Minnesota, in 1886, arranged two 
courses of study for high schools, one of three years and one 
of four years. Schools having four-year courses were desig- 
nated " High Schools of the first class." On February 13th, of 
the year named, the Faculty of the University voted to admit 
students on certificate from " first class " high schools as classi- 
fied by the High School Board. The President " expressed 
strong disapproval, on the ground it would make an ob- 
noxious discrimination between dififerent high schools and would 
disparage the entrance examinations of the university." 

While Iowa had considered the classification of high schools 
in 1883, no actual classification was recorded until 1886. In 
that year, in addition to the classification in Minnesota as al- 
ready mentioned, Illinois divided her accredited schools into 
classes — ^those which admitted to all courses and those which 
admitted only to particular classes. 



The amount of time given to the discussion and affiliation 
of schools by the faculties of different universities will impress 
any one who happens to look through their minutes. In some 
cases the greatest care was shown in extending the privilege of 
certification. In the minutes of the Faculty of the University 
of Texas, for June 13, 1887, nine visits were reported and only 
four of the schools were accredited. While, no doubt, the 
schools were very weak, the percentage accepted seems small. 

The University of Minnesota, April 7, 1887, voted to accept 
students on certificate from schools in other states providing the 
schools were accredited by their own state universities. This 
suggests the spread of the certificating system. 

Michigan, this year, voted to affiliate some schools for 
periods of two and three years. The question of adding certain 
science subjects to the list to be accepted for entrance caused 
heated debates in the faculty. 

Indiana decided not to commission a school without a graduat- 
ing class. 

The President of the University of Ohio complained to the 
Board of the method of dealing with accredited schools and 



Origin and Evolution of the System 6 5 

requested authority to visit the schools, which request was 
granted. 

Wisconsin announced subjects, accepted as entrance require- 
ments, in ten groups and gave to applicants some option in the 
selection of subjects to be presented for admission. 



The first joint meeting of high school representatives and 
university instructors for the purpose of constructive work was 
held, so far as the records show, at the University of Iowa, in 
1888. Twenty superintendents, four principals, and fifteen uni- 
versity instructors were present. The conference adopted a 
course of study for the high schools of the state. In the cir- 
cular announcing the course of study adopted the statement 
occurs that considerable liberty would be allowed to high schools 
in applying the course and that substitutions of real equiva- 
lents would be permitted " except in the requirements in Latin 
and mathematics." 

The year 1888 brought a revision of entrance requirements 
at the University of Michigan. The committee which reported 
the proposed changes split on the foreign language requirements. 
Along with the change in entrance requirements it was proposed 
to issue a suggestive course of study for high schools. Some 
members of the faculty thought that one course should be made 
without any foreign language. The courses proposed are not 
found in the minutes and hence the results of the debate and 
final action are not recorded. These meager facts are intro- 
duced to show the tendencies of universities to meet high school 
conditions. 

The University of Missouri, although one of the oldest in the 
Middle West, had a hard struggle to win popular favor. That 
institution was at times a subject of legislative criticism. While 
efforts were made by the Board and the Faculty to advertise 
the work and win the support of the people, a certain conserva- 
tism in dealing with the high schools was manifested. The 
President of the Board of Curators in his report to the Gover- 
nor, in 1887, complained that no such articulation existed be- 
tween the university and schools of the state as prevailed " in 
Michigan and elsewhere." For a partial explanation of the 



66 Admission to College by Certificate 

situation, one need go no further than a resolution passed by 
the faculty, February 23, 1888. In response to requests of 
members of the State Teachers' Association, a committee of the 
faculty had met with a committee of teachers and some plans 
were made with a view to bringing the schools and the uni- 
versity into cooperation. The teachers were asking for a re- 
vision of entrance requirements and the faculty responded that 
their preparatory course was just what was needed and that 
the faculty would deprecate any change in the course, but that 
if the schools would take the prepai-atory course or any parts of 
it and carry them out the university would give credit for the 
work done. The head of each university school was given the 
power to accept or reject the work of any school. In short, the 
university did not meet the schools on a middle ground and 
failed to get on a good working basis with them until some 
years later. 

The visitation of schools in Indiana has always devolved upon 
the State Board of Education, a condition which will receive 
later attention. The point of interest here is that, on October 
22, 1888, the Board passed a rule providing that reports of visits 
to schools should be made in writing. This same year, the work of 
visitation was taken up by the faculty of the University of Ohio. 

From the very beginning of certification by the University of 
Texas, the work of visitation was dealt with in a serious way. 
The conditions of the best schools in Texas, in 1888, were re- 
flected in a report, recorded in the minutes of the faculty for 
the year just indicated, and made by a professor after visiting a 
school in the northeastern part of the state. The report on the 
course of study follows : " The course is even higher than is 
necessary for admission to the university and seems to be car- 
ried out very well. This extended high school course, which is' 
pretty much the same in most of the schools of the state, while 
an evil as far as the university preparation is concerned (for 
which the same time devoted to a briefer course would be 
better), it seems to be almost a necessary one owing to the fact 
that so many students quit school for good after graduating 
from the high school, and so a tolerably full course is prescribed 
on their account." This suggests the old time academy course 
and not the high school course as it exists to-day. 



I Origin and Evolution of the System 67 



The following movements are recorded in the minutes of the 
different institutions, named, for 1889: Texas voted to make 
" Auxiliary Schools " centers for holding entrance examinations ; 
the Missouri Faculty urged schools to teach Latin, Chemistry 
and Physics in order that preparatory work might be dropped 
at the university; Michigan dropped Arithmetic and Political 
Geography from the entrance requirements; the State Board of 
Indiana divided the state into districts for the purpose of visita- 
tion and assigned a district to each member of the board ; and, 
the University of Indiana abolished the preparatory department. 

Under date of January 7, 1889, the Wisconsin Faculty minutes 
show the following : " A circular letter from the President 
to principals of accredited schools was read showing relative 
standing of students admitted on certificate and on examination. 
The average standings were almost the same. There were more 
'poor' and more 'excellent' (students) admitted on examin- 
ation." 

A factor, which has come to be of the most vital importance 
and which will be discussed later, was originated when an act 
of the Legislature of Wisconsin, approved April 16, 1889, pro- 
vided that : " The State Superintendent is hereby authorized to 
appoint a person of suitable qualifications to assist him in visit- 
ing, inspecting and supervising the high schools of the state, 
and to aid in giving information and needed assistance to local 
free high schools where no graded schools exist." 

1890 

While the different faculties took steps, in 1890, of more or 
less importance in developing their certification systems, only 
two institutions will be mentioned. 

The Faculty of the University of Texas, March 10, 1890, 
passed the following: "Ordered that hereafter no high school 
shall be affiliated in which the teaching of Latin is not conducted 
under a competent teacher with a course of suitable dignity and 
for a minimum of three hours a week throughout the high 
school course." This order was never carried out and for some 
years schools were accredited in as few as two subjects. The 
order as passed by the Board of Regents, June 17, following. 



68 Admission to College by Certificate 

contains the additional statement that while the Latin must be 
taught it will not be made necessary for graduation from a 
high school. The quotation is given to indicate an attitude 
which was doubtless somewhat general at that time. There was 
some tendency, as noted in Missouri and Texas, to force ancient 
languages, especially Latin, upon the schools. 

At the same meeting at which the resolution concerning Latin 
was passed, the Board of Regents referred to the employment 
of a special inspector of schools, but lack of funds seemed to 
be the impediment in the way of any definite action. 

In some institutions, in 1890, no attempt was made to go 
behind the mere statement of some school authority that an 
applicant was a graduate of a high school and was entitled to 
enter the university on his diploma. Other institutions required 
still more knowledge concerning the actual preparation of pro- 
spective students. A more careful way of dealing with the 
certificate was suggested by the President of the University of 
Ohio in his annual report to the Board of Trustees for the 
year 1890. He stated: "Under these provisions, y6 certificates 
were presented at, or shortly before, the opening of the present 
year. Many of these were accepted only in part. Some were 
deficient in the amount of work, and some in the quality. Of 
those deficient in the amount of work, some were deficient 
because the textbook used was too brief or too elementary, and 
others, because the time devoted to the subject was too short; 
and still others because the grade of the candidate was too low." 
Concerning the method of admission the President is not sure; 
but he states that if properly administered he sees no reason 
why " the plan will not insure a good preparation of the candi- 
date admitted under it." 

Third Decade of Certification 
1891 

The expense of visiting schools in some states was borne by 
the universities and in others by the schools. The latter method 
prevailed in Michigan for twenty years. A very difficult prob- 
lem was involved. In some states as the system became 
developed, schools were dropped automatically when they 
changed superintendents, principals, or courses of study. It 



Origin and Evolution of the System 69 

wasi then necessary for them to make application for re-examin- 
ation and re-affiliation. Sometimes schools would not be 
accepted on the first visit and would be required to pay for 
others. With such conditions a certain amount of friction was 
inevitable. On March 30, 1891, the Faculty of the University 
of Michigan " moved and carried a committee be raised to 
memorialize the Regents on paying the expenses of the com- 
mittee visiting schools." 

In connection with visitation, Texas presented a new feature. 
Not only were applications being received from other states, 
but the minutes of the faculty show that special effort was made 
to get in touch with some of the best private preparatory schools 
of the South. 

This was probably a result of the fact that Texas had compara- 
tively few preparatory schools and many Texas boys and girls 
went to the older states for college preparation. The University 
doubtless desired tO' recall such students for collegiate work at 
home; and, so, desired to get in touch with the schools which 
were preparing Texas young people for college. The faculty 
soon encountered the problem of visiting schools outside the 
state. On December 16, 1891, it was voted to empower a local 
committee in Ft. Smith, Arkansas, to visit the high school of 
that place, providing that the school be visited without expense 
to the University. It does not seem, however, that the plan of 
using local committees was ever developed to any considerable 
extent. 

Iowa announced a revised scheme for admission by certificate, 
March 11, 1891. In the new plan the expenses of visiting the 
schools were to be assumed by the University. 

The need of closer touch with the high schools began to be 
deeply felt by the University of Missouri. The Catalogue for 
1 890- 1 89 1 contains several paragraphs concerning " articula- 
tion." The following excerpts are quoted from that discussion : 
" It is equally evident that the University is too much isolated 
from the lower schools. It seems to stand alone in the 
State. . . . There is no organic influence impelling public atten- 
tion or even encouraging public patronage. The public schools 
receive support from an endowment equal to ten million dollars. 
Yet they are legal strangers to the University. There is a great 



70 Admission to College by Certificate 

chasm between them." Then follows a plea for legal enactment 
which would bind the schools and the University together. This 
was a wail of despair which ultimately brought salvation to the 
University of Missouri. This very year, three preparatory 
courses were announced. Some years had to pass, however, 
before the admirable conditions ahead were fully realized. 

The catalogue of the University of Wisconsin, 1 890-1 891, 
contains a statement which represents somewhat the same feeling 
expressed in the last paragraph : " It is also proposed to bring 
the university into more formal and official relationship with the 
state school system. To do this the four high-school courses 
recently revised and recommended by the state superintendent 
have been adopted as standards or types of the preparatory work 
required for admission to the corresponding courses of the uni- 
versity." A disposition was thus shown to meet the schools on 
their own ground. 

The following statement taken from the catalogue of the 
University of Indiana, for the year under consideration, shows 
further the disposition to connect the high schools with the 
universities : " None of the work of the high schools, or of 
other parts of the public school system is now duplicated in the 
university. As its instruction begins where the work of the high 
school leaves off, its lowest class is composed of those who have 
successfully completed the course of the high school, or a fair 
equivalent." 

1892 

The minutes of 1892 show little except routine work concern- 
ing the accrediting of schools. 

1893 
In 1893, the Legislature of Missouri abolished the preparatory 
department. The step followed after years of agitation. It was 
claimed, in 1885, that mere children were attending the uni- 
versity, and the Legislature considered the question of abolishing 
the preparatory department at that time. An investigation 
showed that the average age of the students in attendance at that 
time was 20 years and i month. The schools of the state had 
worked for some time to get the preparatory work cut down. 



Origin and Evolution of the System 7 1 

The faculty thought that the preparatory department was neces- 
sary. Finally the matter was settled by the Legislature as stated. 

The work of visiting the schools had become so heavy that 
Michigan found it necessary this year to continue a list of schools 
for a period of three years without visitation. 

Minnesota claimed that the students entering on certificate 
from the high schools were not well prepared for college work. 
A regulation was passed providing that important subjects not 
taken in the high schools should be made up in the University. 
Since 1886, students had been admitted from " First Class " 
high schools, as classified by the High School Board; and for 
some reason the university did not keep in as close touch with 
the schools as formerly. In 1893, steps were taken to protect 
the standards of entrance as already indicated. 

The President of the University of Minnesota as a member of 
the High School Board had acted as inspector of schools since the 
board was organized in 1881. The board, June 29, 1893, elected 
an inspector of schools who was not to be connected with the uni- 
versity but who was to give all of his time to high school inspec- 
tion. That step broke one vital connection between the schools 
and the University of Minnesota. 

1894 

The length of time for which schools had been accredited pre- 
vious to 1894 varied from the time of a change in school manage- 
ment, or change in course of study, to the indefinite time indicated 
by some such expression as " until the work of the school is 
found unsatisfactory." Illinois thought best this year to cut 
the period for which a school could be affiUated from five to 
three years. The time for which a certificate could be presented 
after graduation was changed from twenty-eight to sixteen 
months. This same year, Texas repealed the law limiting the 
life of a certificate to one year and passed no other rule. Judg- 
ments concerning the life of a certificate and the period for which 
a school should be accredited were thus shown to be in an un- 
settled state. 

Michigan appointed a committee this year to confer with a 
committee of the state teachers' association, at the request of the 
latter, with reference to entrance requirements. 



72 Admission to College by Certificate 

1895 

The lack of preparation of students entering on certificate was 
discussed by the Board of Visitors of the University of Wiscon- 
sin in a report submitted June 18, 1895. The discussion includes 
eight paragraphs and closes with the recommendation that appli- 
cants be required to bring with them the examination papers 
on which they graduated. The board, here mentioned, was not 
a board of inspectors but a body whose duty it was to keep 
watch over the general administration of the university. The 
report of this board was doubtless influenced in some measure 
by the faculty. 

The inspection of high schools and the examination of students 
were made a part of the duties of the professor of education by 
the regents of the University of Iowa, March 12, 1895. Com- 
paratively little visiting was done for the next four or five years, 
as: shown by the records. 

Michigan, Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois all made important 
changes in entrance requirements this year. Iowa announced 
subjects in groups, Illinois made some subjects " fixed " and 
some " elective," Missouri used the term " units," and the Michi- 
gan faculty recommended to the Board of Regents that entrance 
requirements be raised. 

1896 

All of the nine records show significant steps directly or 
indirectly connected with certification in 1896. Minnesota had 
elected a special inspector of schools, in 1893, who was to serve 
under the High School Board ; Iowa provided, in 1895, that the 
inspection of accredited schools should be looked after by the 
professor of education; Illinois and Missouri advanced a step 
by placing the inspection of schools under special examiners, 
these examiners to have membership in the university faculties. 
In recommending the appointment of a " Visitor of High 
Schools " to the Board of Trustees, June 9, 1896, the President 
of the University of Illinois used the following language : " The 
time has now come when it seems imperatively necessary that 
the university should employ a man whose special duty it shall 
be to visit high schools with a view to placing them, or continu- 
ing them, upon the accredited list of the university. The work 
has heretofore been done by members of the faculty and always 



Origin and Evolution of the System 73 

with more or less inconvenience to their regular university work, 
as well as without the best results upon the field. When the 
examinations of high schools are made by different members of 
the faculty, of course, there is an inevitable variety of judgment 
exercised in determining their status. I am confident that it 
would be very greatly to the advantage of university work, 
that it would promote the best relations between the university 
and the high schools, and that it would have a stimulating and 
helpful effect upon the high school work throughout the state, 
if we could have the right man, whose time should be exclusively 
devoted to that important interest." This quotation sets forth 
some of the reasons advanced for the appointment of special 
inspectors of schools. 

Minnesota found it necessary to limit the acceptance of certifi- 
cates to graduates of high schools having four-year courses. 

Texas ordered a classified list of schools to be prepared for the 
catalogue. A reactionary spirit was shown in the report of a 
committee recommending that those who expected to graduate 
should be required to pass entrance examinations. The recom- 
mendation, however, was not accepted by the faculty. The life 
of the certificate was limited to one year. 

The University of Ohio, in 1896, was making an attempt to 
get rid of preparatory work. The President, in his annual report, 
used the following words : " Every preparatory department 
maintained by a college or university is a direct thrust at every 
high school and academy." 

By 1896, the University of Wisconsin was getting to work in 
earnest on the development of the system. On January 21st, 
the President reported : " Experience has shown that this 
method of admission can only be made satisfactory by a system 
of frequent and somewhat thorough examination of the schools." 
The method of procedure in accrediting schools was as follows : 
(i) Application from the school; (2) school visited; (3) written 
report made to committee on accredited schools; (4) recom- 
mendation to the faculty; (5) faculty action; and (6) action of 
faculty communicated to the school. 

This year the Indiana Board of Education reiterated the rule 
requiring written reports on schools. 

Iowa was working slowly on a classification of schools; and 



74 Admission to College by Certificate 

Michigan made an announcement of subjects, required for 
entrance, in groups. 

1897 

The universities were, about this time, in the midst of transi- 
tion in methods of announcing entrance requirements. In 
1897, Minnesota announced in " year-credits " ; Michigan, in 
" Groups " ; Missouri, in " Units." 

In the catalogue of Missouri University for the next year, 
the statement was made that the new entrance requirements had 
been criticised but that they were approved " by the State 
Teachers' Association representing the entire state." 

The change in the announcement of entrance requirements 
represented, possibly better than any other factor, the bona Me 
adjustment of college requirements to high school conditions. 

1898 

Early in 1898, the Faculty of the University of Michigan 
passed two suggestive resolutions, one requiring " that the 
Diploma Schools Committee report at least once a year to the 
faculty the results of their transactions," the other providing for 
the appointment of a committee " to take into consideration the 
subject of the present system of inspecting schools to see 
whether a better system cannot be devised." Both of these 
resolutions suggest unrest. The first of these movements 
exhibits a disposition on the part of the faculty to keep in touch 
with the work of accrediting schools. That work had largely 
passed to a special committee. One of the largest problems en- 
countered in accrediting schools has been the proper lodgment of 
authority. The second resolution suggests the need of more 
efficient inspection and led the next year to the appointment of a 
special inspector. 

The University of Minnesota, June i, 1898, voted, to require 
eight credits in the form of certificates of the High School 
Board, the remainder of the credits to be accepted on certificate 
from the schools. To understand this resolution it is necessary 
to recall that certificates of the High School Board were based 
upon set examinations. It does not seem that this resolution 
was put into operation; had such been the case, the university 



Origin and Evolution of the System 75 

would practically have returned to the examination system for 
about one-half of its entrance credits. 

Previous to 1898, the records were silent with reference to 
any joint plan of accrediting schools to be used by the different 
colleges within any given state or territory. Under the date of 
May 27, of that year, the University of Iowa provided that a 
plan should be proposed to a committee of the college section of 
the State Teachers' Association. The results of the proposal 
are not recorded and the matter is presented merely because 
it brings up the idea of state organization of colleges as a unit 
of control for certification. 

1899 

High Schools in Minnesota, under the supervision of the 
High School Board, receive certain apportionments of state 
funds. Certain public schools, not wishing to avail themselves 
of the state money because of provisions of the high school law 
which make it a disadvantage to do so, and private schools are 
not under the regulations of the High School Board. In 1899, 
the university took up the matter of crediting the independent 
schools and has since continued the work. Missouri, by 1899, 
enjoyed a much better state of cooperation between the schools 
and the university. In the catalogue of that year the following 
expressions occur : " The University has done much to foster 
the marvelous growth which has taken place in secondary 
schools in the state in the last three years." The statement is 
made that, in 1895, there were 9500 pupils in high schools, and 
in 1898 the number had increased to 20,000, The statement con- 
tinues : " We have already begun to reap the benefits of this 
growth in the secondary schools. The Freshman class entering 
in September, 1898, was the largest and best in the history of 
the university, for most of the students came from approved 
schools." 

It is probable that no stronger testimony to the practical re- 
sults of cooperation between secondary and higher education 
can be found than is shown in the records of the University 
of Missouri about this time. 

1900 

Last year, Michigan gave the visitation of schools into the 
hands of a single person; this year, Wisconsin and Iowa ap- 



76 Admission to College by Certificate 

pointed special inspectors who were to give their entire time to 
the work. Because of lack of funds, inspection of schools by 
the State Board of Education in Indiana was suspended until 
the legislature should provide funds. The legislature made pro- 
vision and visitation was resumed the next year. 

Missouri announced in the catalogue for 1899-1900 that di- 
plomas would not be accepted as credentials but that certifi- 
cates stating the exact preparation of each student would be 
required. The further statement was made that applicants who 
were not graduates might present the grades received on ex- 
aminations, taken in the schools, but that the acceptance of such 
grades would be left to the individual professor interested. 

Fourth Decade of the Certificating System 
1901 

After 1900, few new policies are found in the records. The 
development of the systems already in operation largely engages 
the attention of inspectors, committees on accredited schools, 
and faculties. The final authority for passing upon the schools 
is transferred more and more from faculties to committees and 
inspectors; and so, the minutes of governing boards and facul- 
ties contain fewer references to accredited schools and the cer- 
tification of students. The records of committees and inspectors 
deal largely with details concerning the schools; and, since the 
principal methods, used by typical institutions, will be discussed 
later, it does not seem profitable to trace the changes from year 
to year. Only the more important developments will be noticed. 

In 1901, a movement was started by the University of Minne- 
sota to have all applicants examined in English which plan was 
later adopted. Wisconsin considered the feasibility of announc- 
ing entrance requirements in " units " but decided not to do so 
until the requirements were further simplified by the faculty. 
The entrance requirements announced by Texas this year pro- 
vided a handicap on students not offering Latin, the requirement 
to take effect the following year. 

1 002 

Since 1887, the rules governing the affiliation of schools by 
the University of Ohio had provided that schools should be 



Origin and Evolution of the System 7 7 

visited by "a committee of two" from the faculty; in 1902, a 
special inspector of schools was appointed. 

At a meeting of the Board of Education of Indiana, May 14, 
1902, a committee was appointed to consider the advisability of 
appointing a high school inspector to do the work carried on 
for years by the different members of the Board; no practical 
results followed, and the Board continued to visit the schools. 

1903 

A somewhat general feeling of different institutions, concern- 
ing admission by certificate, was expressed by the President of 
the University of Ohio in his annual report to the Board of 
Trustees, June 30, 1903 : " Experience for the past five years 
has proved beyond controversy that students may not be en- 
rolled safely upon such reports as are possible from schools." 
This statement occurs in connection with a report on the work 
done by the high school visitor for the preceding year, 

1904 

The examination of all students in English on entrance, sug- 
gested by the University of Minnesota three years before, was 
made a requirement in 1904, and the supervision of the ex- 
amination was assigned to the department of rhetoric. 

The infrequency with which schools were dropped from the 
accredited list, according to the records, is only surpassed by the 
infrequency of withdrawals on the part of the schools them- 
selves. In 1896, the records of the University of Wisconsin 
show that there was some criticism in some cases where schools 
were dropped from the accredited list. While a few schools 
were dropped in the different states from time to time, the only 
case of a withdrawal encountered in the records thus far, on 
the part of a school itself, occurred in Texas in 1904. It is 
not claimed that this was the first or only withdrawal of this 
kind but that withdrawals were extremely rare. 

1905 
Various officers have been assigned to deal with the matter 
of checking in the certificates, presented, at different institu- 
tions. In some institutions, the registrars have had control; in 



78 Admission to College by Certificate 

others the deans of academic departments ; in the University of 
Michigan, the deans of the several departments act indepen- 
dently of each other. In 1905, the University of Ohio created 
an Entrance Board which has charge of the admission of all 
students. 

1906 

There was noticeable, about this time, a great effort in dif- 
ferent institutions to raise entrance requirements. The advance- 
ment was entirely natural and justifiable. The high schools 
were becoming stronger and more numerous. The standards of 
entrance requirements, undoubtedly, were lowered when the col- 
leges first did away with preparatory departments and began to 
depend upon the high schools for the preparation of students. 
The schools were weak and the colleges were compelled to meet 
their conditions, and the result was a lowering of standards of 
admission. But the colleges soon began to raise requirements 
and thus pull up the schools. The changes in the records ex- 
amined support these statements. The establishment of the 
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, in 
1905, gave an impetus to the advancement of entrance require- 
ments already begun years before. That influence began to be 
felt by 1906. 

1907 

From time to time, the different institutions, in order to se- 
cure choice students from the accredited schools, provided 
scholarships, usually if not always, for the high school pupils 
standing highest in their graduating classes. As early as 1886 
Indiana provided " honor scholarships." In 1907, the Univer- 
sity of Texas provided two scholarships annually for each 
school, one for the boy and one for the girl standing highest in 
their class. In case a class should be composed of one sex, but 
one scholarship would be awarded. 

1908 

The lack of preparation on the part of certificated students 
became so impressed on the Faculty of the University of Minne- 
sota that, in 1907, it voted that " it was in favor of the general 
idea of having some examinations for admission." A committee 



Origin and Evolution of the System 79 

was appointed to take up the matter and report to the faculty- 
later. The resolution referred to was passed in March; and in 
May following, it was decided to request more definite infor- 
mation from the schools concerning subjects offered, strength 
of applicants and other " pertinent remarks." On June 8, " it 
was voted that the principals of accredited schools be notified 
when pupils of their schools receive conditions here at the uni- 
versity." This unsettled condition continued and in March, 
1908, fifty-two students were dropped for falling down in 60 
per cent of their work. Out of this action arose a different plan 
for dealing with high school graduates. The officials of the 
schools were requested to divide the graduates into three groups 
according to proficiency : " Pass," " Pass with Credit," and 
" Pass with honor." Only those in the two highest classes were 
to be accepted without examination. Later it was planned to 
send a printed list of the students dropped for delinquency in 
work to the instructors in the university, to the state inspector 
of high schools, and to the head of the crediting school. It was 
further proposed to send a list of schools with the numbers 
dropped from each school to all of the city superintendents and 
the heads of accredited schools. In the plans announced are to be 
found two fundamental ideas. In the first place this method 
would throw back upon the schools the responsibility of select- 
ing those of their graduates who should enter college; the other 
suggestion deals with the idea of giving wide publication to the 
failures of the certificated students. These same plans, in dif- 
ferent forms, have been used or suggested by other institutions. 

1909 

After thirty-eight years of work with the schools, the Univer- 
sity of Michigan proposed in a bill, approved by the faculty, 
January 26, 1909, and by the Board of Regents February 17, 
of the same year, to place the schools under the control of a 
" State High School Commission " to be composed of the Presi- 
dent of the State University, the State Superintendent of Public 
Instruction and the President of the State Agricultural College. 
The bill provided for the appointment of three inspectors, at 
least one of whom should " be a member of the faculty of the 
department of Literature, Science and the Arts of the Univer- 



8o Admission to College by Certificate 

sity of Michigan." In a revision of the bill the last clause was 
eliminated. 

On January 6, 1909, the State Board of Indiana recom- 
mended to the legislature the creation of the office of " In- 
spector of accredited normal schools and certified high schools." 
It should be noted that " certified high schools " in Indiana are 
not the same as " commissioned high schools." Only the latter 
may send students to the University on certificate. 

1910 

Closing the records of the office, the inspector of schools for 
the University of Iowa wrote : " On March 2, 1910, the State 
Board of Education removed inspection from the university and 
from the state college, and appointed the inspector of schools 
for the university inspector of secondary schools for the board, 
removing him from the faculty of the College of Liberal Arts 
in the university. This, therefore, closes this chapter." The 
action, here recorded, was the culmination of a strife which 
had prevailed among educational leaders and interests for some 
years. The removal of inspection from the university, as was 
done in Minnesota in 1893, broke one of its vital connections 
with the schools of the state. 

Probably the fiercest conflict recorded over the question of 
high school inspection is found in the minutes of the University 
of Wisconsin. For some years the State Department of Educa- 
tion had waged war on inspection of schools by the State Uni- 
versity. On October 12, 1910, a resolution was introduced in 
the Board of Regents providing that inspection of schools by 
the university should be abolished. The resolution did not come 
to a vote in the Board. The matter had been before the State 
Legislature in 1909 and was presented again in 191 1, but no law 
was passed on the subject. 

At the close of the first forty years of admission to college 
by certificate, conditions were extremely unsettled. The system, 
in some form or to some degree, had spread to all but a half 
dozen colleges in the United States. It had grown in response 
to popular demands. 

The efficiency of the system at the close of this period seems 
far from what should be and is desired. Lack of close in- 



Origin and Evolution of the System 8i 

spection of schools is found in every state. Strife between state 
departments of education and state universities is present in 
some states where cooperation should prevail. Normal schools 
and denominational colleges, in some states, claim that the state 
universities manipulate the inspection of high schools in their 
own behalf; while the universities report that jealousy and self- 
ish interests incite the opposition to their claims. This agitation 
is shown in the tendency to remove high school inspection from 
the control of the state universities. Other movements along 
this line will be cited in the chapter on present conditions. The 
records of faculties reflect more or less dissatisfaction with the 
preparation of entering students. There is also a disposition 
on the part of some institutions to disown responsibility to the 
schools. Instead of aiding in the proper preparation of stu- 
dents, some institutions are disposed to become their own clear- 
ing houses, admitting without question all who apply and having 
sifted the good from the bad, in the first few months, eliminate 
or carry as dead weight the unprepared. 

So far in this chapter the purpose has been to set forth con- 
ditions as they are found in the records. An attempt will be 
made to interpret the facts submitted after a more specific study 
is made of present day conditions. 



82 



Admission to College by Certificate 



TABLE X 
Data Concerning Certification in Nine State Universities 



No. 


State 


System 
Adopted 


Prepara- 
tory 
Depart- 
ment 
Abolished 


Special 
Inspector 
Appointed 


Admitted 

"Credits" 
or 

"Units" 


I 

2 

3 
4 


Michigan 

Minnesota 

Missouri 

Illinois 


1871 
1886 
1888 
1877 
1873 
1876 
1880 
1885 
1876 


1848 
1889 
1894 
1911 
1889 

1898 

1880 


1899 

1896 
1896 

189s 
1902 

i9°S 
1900 


1901 
1897 
189s 
1899 
1898 
1900 
1901 
1901 
1904 


5 
6 


Indiana 

Iowa 


I 


Ohio 


Texas. . . 


9 


Wisconsin 



Observations Based on Table X 

Table X taken as a series of dates means little; considered 
as a skeleton of movements it may suggest much. An explana- 
tion concerning the sources and reliability of the facts may save 
misunderstandings. The order in which sources have been rated 
may be stated as follows : ( i ) Minutes of governing boards ; 
(2) Minutes of faculties; (3) Announcements in catalogues. 
In all cases an attempt has been made to check each of these 
sources with the other two. In some cases checks were impos- 
sible; in other cases none of the sources were definite and the 
exact dates of action could only be approximated. The dates 
used are the ones on which practical work was begun. To illus- 
trate: The Iowa Board of Regents passed a resolution provid- 
ing for certification in 1872, but no practical results followed 
until 1876, when the resolution was reiterated and work was 
commenced. The dates given for the appointment of special 
inspectors are the years when some one single member of the 
faculty was made responsible for the work of visitation, whether 
that person was to give all or only a part of his time to school 
inspection. The exact dates of the abolishment of preparatory 
departments were found to be elusive. Announcements would 
occur that preparatory work would be discontinued at a certain 
time, but the catalogues would show the enrollment of prepara- 
tory students for some years thereafter. The date was taken 
on which the actual suspension of preparatory work seemed to 



Origin and Evolution of the System 83 

occur. The dates given for the changes to the " unit " or 
" credit " system were taken from the catalogues and may vary 
a year from the actual dates on which the changes took place. 
However, not one of the seeming discrepancies affects the prac- 
tical use of the table. 

The adoption of the system in the nine states had a spread 
of eighteen years. Six of the states had taken up certification 
by 1880. Texas had not yet organized her university. Refer- 
ences in the resolutions show that Michigan influenced other 
states; and yet in each case local conditions played the greater 
part. Complete lack of knowledge of what had been done in 
other states seemed evident in many cases. 

When the University of Texas was organized, the Board of 
Regents spent some months in considering plans for organiz- 
ing branches which should be parts of the university; no 
reference is made to the unsuccessful experience of Michigan 
or the contemplated plan of Missouri forty years or more be- 
fore. The general idea of a connection between the higher and 
lower institutions was the same in the different states, but each 
state largely worked out its own plan of application. 

With the introduction of the certificating system was coupled 
the idea of the abolition of preparatory departments from the 
universities. A comparison of the figures in column one with 
those in column two will show that in four cases the elimina- 
tion of preparatory departments followed soon after the adop- 
tion of certification. One university never had a preparatory 
department and one had abolished preparatory work before in- 
troducing the new system. The institutions not dropping their 
preparatory departments were repeatedly requested to do so by 
the schools and their failure to comply in each case seemed to 
act as an impediment. 

The records disclose clearly that the adoption of the system 
of certification meant the establishment of a line between pre- 
paratory and collegiate institutions. Forty years have been 
spent in working upon the adjustment of that line. The elimi- 
nation of preparatory departments from the higher institutions 
was demanded. In some cases a struggle ensued, but with one 
result — the separation and more distinct characterization of the 



84 Admission to College by Certificate 

two fields of work. Who will say that in this particular a great 
service has not been rendered? 

The new system broke down university walls and led mem- 
bers of the faculties into the schools. Heretofore faculties had 
stood at their doors and received those who presented them- 
selves. According to the new plan the determination of en- 
trance requirements was to be transferred to outside control. 
It was essential that personal contact should be made with the 
schools. The novelty of school visitation, personal enthusiasm 
of certain members of the faculties (sometimes selfish and some- 
times patriotic), the small numbers of accredited schools to be 
visited, and a real desire to bring college instructors and high 
school teachers together, were some of the elements which con- 
trolled visitation in some of the states, for thirty years, and 
prevented the appointment of special inspectors. As schools in- 
creased in numbers and the systems . of accrediting schools be- 
came more complex, one institution after another placed the 
visitation and inspection of schools in the hands of one person. 
The table shows that this movement was more nearly simul- 
taneous in the different states than the adoption of the certificat- 
ing system or the abolition of preparatory departments. 

Column four in the table relates to one of the most important 
steps in the entire evolution of the system. For twenty years 
or more after Michigan began to admit students on certificate 
definite entrance requirements were announced for each of the 
separate college courses. It is true that the requirements for the 
several courses differed but there were few substitutions allowed. 
From year to year the universities announced new courses, until, 
by 1890, as many as nine different courses appeared in one of 
the catalogues. Special requirements were announced for each 
of these courses. The schools, at first, were accredited to certain 
courses and not to others. Soon there was a clamoring for 
more liberal entrance requirements and the colleges were becom- 
ing more and more embarrassed. The first step taken to meet 
the conditions was to announce the subjects accepted as entrance 
requirements in " groups." Certain groups were required for 
certain courses with some liberty of substitution. The " group " 
stage in the development was rather short, and, as is shown in 
the table, in the years clustering' about 1900, there was a change 



Origin and Evolution of the System, 



85 



to the " unit " or " credit " system. These different changes 
meant that an effort was being made to adjust entrance require- 
ments to changing conditions and high school needs. A further 
study of changes in entrance requirements will be made in 
Table XI. 

TABLE XI 

Dates of First Requirement or Acceptance of Subjects for 

Admission by Nine State Universities, 1870-1910 



Subjects 



1 . Agriculture 

2. Algebra 

3. Astronomy 

4. Arithmetic 

S- Biology 

6. Botany 

7. Book-keeping. . . . 

8. Chemistry 

9. Civics 

10. Com. Subjects. . . 

1 1 . Drawing 

12. Domestic Ec 

13. English 

14. Economics 

15. French 

16. Geometry, Plane. 

17. Geometry, Solid. . 

18. German 

19. Geography 

20. Geology 

21. Greek 

22. History 

23. Latin 

24. Manual Training. 

25. Physics 

26. Physiography. . . . 

27. Physiology 

28. Spanish 

29. Sten. & Twp 

30. Trigonometry. . . . 

31. Zoology 

32. Miscellaneous. . . . 



Mich. 


Minn. 


Mo. 


111. 


Ind. 


la. 


0. 


Tex. 






1906 


1909 






1907 


1910 


1870 


1876 


1870 


1870 


1870 


1870 


1880 


1883 


1891 


1876 




1893 




1876 


1894 




1870 


1876 


1870 


1870 


1870 


1870 


1880 


1883 


1891 




1894 


1899 






1907 




1873 


1876 


1888 


1873 


1891 


1870 


1880 


1902 




1908 


1880 


1876 


1874 


189s 




1910 


1879 


1880 


1888 


1893 


1891 


1870 


1896 


1902 


1879 


1900 
1904 


1889 


1899 
1906 


1885 


1879 


1888 


1907 


1872 


1876 


1889 


1896 




1879 


1907 


1904 




1908 


1910 


1909 






1907 


1910 


1870 


1876 


1870 


1870 


1870 


1870 


1880 


1883 




1900 


1910 


1909 




1889 






1872 


189s 


1874 


1878 


1886 


187s 


1893 


1892 


1870 


1876 


1873 


1873 


187s 


1870 


1880 


1883 


1870 


1888 


1883 


1894 


1897 


1886 


1880 


1907 


1878 


1876 


1873 


1878 


1886 


1870 


1880 


1892 


1870 


1876 


1870 


1870 


1870 


1872 


1880 




1873 


1876 




1899 


1894 


1879 


1894 




1870 


1876 


1870 


1871 


1870 


1891 


1896 


1883 


1870 


1876 


1870 


1870 




1872 


1880 


1887 


1870 


1876 


1870 


1871 


1870 


1870 


1880 


1883 


1904 


1901 


190S 


1899 






1907 


1904 


1873 


1876 


1880 


1873 


1891 


1870 


1880 


1902 


1891 


1876 


1889 


1893 




1877 


1880 


1902 


1879 


1876 


1889 


1873 


1875 


1876 


1880 


1902 




1902 


1904 








1902 


1897 




1906 












1910 


1891 




1903 






1886 


1880 


1907 


1873 


1897 


1887 


1893 


1891 


1879 


1902 


1909 




1 90 61 


1910^ 




1899=* 






1904* 



1870 
1894 
1870 

187s 

1904 

1872 

1907 
1904 

1870 
1904 
1887 
1870 
1882 
187s 
1870 
1871 
1870 
1870 
1870 
1904 
1874 
1870 
1874 
1907 

190s 
1894, 

18935 



1 Scandinavian. 2 Music. 3 Five units of any subject taught in a good high school, 
* Field work. 5 Mental science and art of teaching accepted. 

Observations Based on Table XI 
In the administration of any system of admission to college 
the first consideration is the selection of the preparation to be 
required or accepted. The early colleges limited their entrance 
requirements to a few subjects. Within the last forty years as 
many subjects have been approved for college admission. It is 
claimed in this study that admission by certificate has greatly 
broadened the work both in the colleges and in the high schools. 
Furthermore, with few exceptions, this broadening of work in 
the schools has been largely simultaneous with the expansion 
in the universities; especially does this hold with reference to 
schools and colleges using the certificating system of admission. 



86 Admission to College by Certificate 

Much has been said concerning the domination of the high school 
curriculum, comparatively little has been written of the domina- 
tion of the college by the high school. Where admission to 
college by examination alone has prevailed, no doubt the prepara- 
tory schools were controlled in the selection of subjects to be 
taught, in a great measure, by the demands of the colleges ; but 
where the certificating system has been used there has been a 
growing tendency to adjust college requirements to high school 
conditions. So strong has been this disposition in some states 
that the schools have gained control and now practically dictate 
college entrance requirements. 

Table XI presents the subjects required or accepted by nine 
institutions with the dates on which the subjects appeared in the 
catalogues. A few words of explanation should be made con- 
cerning the data. Some of the institutions, studied, were nothing 
more than preparatory schools in 1870 and did not make definite 
announcements of entrance requirements to collegiate depart- 
ments until some years later. Some of the institutions 
announced merely that students would be admitted who had 
completed the branches taught in the elementary schools. In 
some cases the data given were taken from the preparatory 
courses announced by the different institutions. It is believed 
that the subjects named and the dates given, subject to slight 
errors due to indefiniteness of the sources, represent a fair back- 
ground upon which a study of the changes in state university 
entrance requirements may be based. 

A critical study of the changes of content of each one of the 
subjects named in the table reveals many interesting points. 
Indeed the table is nothing more than a mere skeleton to which 
the vital parts may be attached. Only somewhat general state- 
ments concerning changes in content will be made. 

Some subjects, as Astronomy, Greek, and Geology, gradually 
lost popularity until they were practically eliminated from the 
lists of subjects offered. Arithmetic and Geography, as an- 
nounced forty years ago, drifted out by 1890, except in two or 
three institutions, and appeared later in new forms. The 
General Arithmetic changed to Commercial Arithmetic, and the 
Geography was later taken up with History or drifted to an 
accentuation of the physical side and appeared as Physiography. 



Origin and Evolution of the System 87 

Physiography also took up phases of the old Geology. Certain 
other subjects, as Mechanical Drawing and Bookkeeping, were 
dropped for a time and later reclaimed a place in the high 
school curriculum. History first appeared as United States 
History or Ancient History ; later it changed to General History, 
and at the close of the period appeared as Ancient History, 
Mediaeval and Modern History, English History and American 
History. These exact divisions, however, have not been 
observed by all of the institutions. The evolution of the subject 
of English, as shown in the announcements of entrance require- 
ments, is striking. At first. Grammar and " Sentential Analysis," 
later the addition of Rhetoric and Literature and finally the 
stress upon expression, or composition writing, were some of 
the steps clearly marked from year to year. Starting with Latin, 
Greek, Mathematics, a little English and a little History, admis- 
sion subjects advanced to include the Modern Languages, the 
Sciences and finally, in some institutions, the vocational subjects, 
as shown in the Table. To appreciate the changes made in 
entrance subjects not only the numbers but the content and 
methods of teaching should be considered. The announcements 
show urgent petitions to the schools tO' change from memoriter 
systems to experimentation. Laboratories and libraries did not 
at first grow up in schools but in universities. The better 
methods of teaching were at first urged upon the schools by the 
colleges ; but not until the schools and the colleges were brought 
into vital relation through a direct and immediate common 
interest in the preparation of students. This inter-relation and 
cooperation will be further discussed in connection with the 
following tables. 



88 Admission to College by Certificate 

TABLE XII 

Subjects Accepted for Entrance by Nine State Universities 
Distributed by Decades^ 



State 


1870 


1880 


1890 


1900 


1910 


I. Michigan. . 


Al., Ar., E.. 
P. G., S.G.. 
Geog..Gr.. 


B., C, Civ.. 
D., P., G., 
Ge.. P.. Phys., 




Ast., Bi.. Ph., 
T. 


M.T. 


2. Minnesota. 


Entrance Re- 
quirements 
Announced, 
1876 


Al., Ast., Ar., 
B., C, D., E., 
G.P., G., 
Geog.,Ge..Gr., 
H.. L., P., 
Ph., Phys. 


G.S. 


Civ., Ec, F.. 


Bk., C.S., 
D.E., M.T., 
S., S. and T., 
Scan. 


3. Missouri... 


Al., Ar., E., 
Geog., Gr., 


Bk., F.. G.P., 
G.. P. 


B., C, Civ.. 
D., G.S., 
P., Phys. 


Bi.. Z. 


Ag., D.E.. 
Ec..^M.T..S.. 


4. Illinois. . . . 


Al., Ar., E., 
Geog., H. 


B., Bk., P., 
G.P., G., Gr., 
L.. P., Phys. 




Ast.. Bi., C. 
Civ.. D., 
G.S.. Ge., 
M.T., Ph., Z. 


Ag., C.S., 
D. E., Ec. 


S. Indiana. . . 


Al., Ar., E.. 
Geog.. Gr.. 
L. 


Bk., G.P.. 
Phys. 


Civ.. P.. G. 


B., C G S., 
Ge., P., Z. 


5 units, elec- 
tive, from any 
high school 
subjects 


6. Iowa 


Al., Ar., B., 
C, E., G.P.. 
G., L., P. 


Ast., Civ., D., 
P.. Geog., Ge., 
H., Ph., Phys., 
Z. 


Ec. G.S., T. 


Bk., Gr. 




7. Ohio 


Common 
School 
branches, 1873 


Al., Ar., B., 
E.. G.P., G.S., 
G., Geog.. H.. 
L., P.. Ph.. 
Phys., T. 


Civ. 


C, F., Ge.. 
Gr., Ast. 


Ag.. Bi., D.. 
B.B.,H.T., 


8. Texas 




Organized, 
1883 


Al., Ar., E.. 
G.P..Gr.. 
H., L. 


F.. G., S. 


Ag.. B., Bk.. 

C. Civ., D.. 

D. E.. S.G., 
M.T., P., Ph., 
Phys., S. and 
T., T.. Z., 
F.W. 


9. Wisconsin. 


Al., Ar., E., 
G.P., Geog., 
Gr.,H.,L.. Ph. 


B., Civ.. G.. 
Ge., P., 

Phys. 


P., G.S. 


Ast., Z., M.S., 
A. of T. 


C, C.S., D., 
Ec, M.T., 
S.,T. 



1 The subjects added within each preceding decade are given imder the dates 1880, 
1890, 1900 and 1910. 

Observations Based on Table XII 

Table XII, compiled from Table XI, enables us to make 
further observations concerning subjects admitted for entrance 
requirements between 1870 and 1910. The question of college 
domination of high school courses and the more recent claim of 
high school control of college entrance requirements may be 
studied by the use of this table. If it can be shown that the 
colleges accredited schools and then refused to accept for admis- 



Origin and Evohttion of the System 89 

sion subjects which were well taught in the schools, but that they 
continued to exact the old standard subjects of Greek, Latin, and 
Mathematics alone, then it would seem that such requirements 
would militate against the free development of the high school 
curriculum. Or, if the colleges stood aloof from the schools, 
refused to cooperate with them, and still kept hard and fixed 
entrance requirements, the influence of the higher institutions 
would still tend to oppose the expansion of high school courses. 
The table will be used, more especially, in discussing the so- 
called oppression of the schools by the colleges. 

In Table X, it may be seen that Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, 
Iowa, and Wisconsin were all admitting on certificate by 1880. 
Table XII shows what subjects were recognized by these insti- 
tutions for admission requirements. Of the modern subjects, 
Michigan recognized two modem languages and six sciences; 
Illinois, two modern languages and three sciences ; Iowa, two 
modern languages and eight sciences ; and Wisconsin, one modem 
language and five sciences. In Indiana the State Board of Edu- 
cation determined upon the schools to be accredited and the 
university accepted certificates from the schools almost without 
question. While Minnesota did not accept students on certificate 
until 1886, for ten years it had numbered among its entrance re- 
quirements, French, German, Botany, Chemistry, Geology, Phy- 
sics, Physiology, and Zoology. Ohio began to admit students on 
certificate from towns having a population of five thousand 
people and, although it had been admitting students directly 
from the elementary schools, its entrance requirements to collegi- 
ate work included German, Botany, Physics, Physiography, and 
Physiology. Texas began to affiliate schools in 1885 ; and, while 
students were admitted who could make any showing of fitness 
whatever, the records show that, at one time, the Faculty voted 
not to accredit schools not providing for the teaching of Latin. 
As shown in the table, Texas did not accredit schools in modern 
languages until after 1890 and not in sciences until after 1900. 
Missouri began to credit schools in 1888 but for some years it 
had been preparing students in two modem languages. The 
sciences were recognized about the time schools were first 
accredited. These facts show that with one or two exceptions 
these nine institutions were ready to credit the modern subjects 



90 Admission to College by Certificate 

when they began to admit students on certificate. It seems quite 
probable that lack of adequately trained teachers and the absence 
of laboratory equipment in the schools played a greater part, 
for many years, in keeping back the development of the high 
school curriculum than did the opposition of the colleges. It is 
not claimed that a conservatism toward the admission of new 
subjects did not prevail in faculties, but that the table shows 
that such influence did not dominate. The minutes of the facul- 
ties record that contests over the admission of new subjects 
occurred but that the more liberal views prevailed. The most 
potent factor, as shown by the records, in deciding the inclusion 
of new subjects from time to time was the desire to adjust the 
entrance requirements to high school conditions. 

The discussion so far has pertained to the admission of the 
modern languages and the sciences. It may be asked, what 
about the recognition of the vocational subjects? A glance at 
Table XII will reveal the fact that, with the exceptions of Texas 
and Illinois which were just being organized as colleges, the two 
columns, representing a period of twenty years, show very few 
additions to the lists of subjects admitting to college. The 
colleges ran ahead of the schools with the modern languages 
and sciences; the schools were the leaders in the demand for 
the recognition of the vocational subjects. Only four of the 
nine institutions were crediting Agriculture, five, Domestic 
Science, and seven were recognizing Manual Training in 1910. 
The colleges, doubtless, argued correctly that the work was 
poorly done; but they did little or nothing to improve it until 
forced to do' so' or lose students who were otherwise well trained. 
Once compelled to recognize these new subjects, the colleges 
became determined that they should be well taught. The co- 
operation of the schools and colleges in developing the vocational 
subjects bids fair to parallel the work already accomplished, or 
being accomplished, in the sciences and foreign languages. 

The acceptance of new subjects for college admission, before 
they are well organized and well taught, has made it extremely 
difficult to maintain standards. Not only were the universities 
forced to lower their standards to articulate with the high 
schools when schools were few and weak, but even after there 
was a large number of good schools others were just reaching 



Origin and Evolution of the System 



91 



the minimum standards and so it was difficult to raise the college 
requirements. This claim is amply supported in the existence 
of such devices as the use of " conditions," " elective units from 
subjects taught in good high schools," and " adaptable units." 
Table XII show^s that practically all high school subjects were 
credited for entrance by a part of the institutions named. 



TABLE XIII 

Enrollment Compared with Numbers of Schools Accredited 
BY Nine State Universities for the Years: 



State 


1871 


187s 


1880 


188s 


1890 


1895 


1900 


190S 


1910 


1. Mich. 


.. .Students. . 
Schools.... 


mo 


1191 

7 


1427 
II 


129s 
29 


2153 
65 


2864 
144 


'in 


4136 


5383 
222 


2. Minn. 


...Students. . 
Schools^. . . 


334 


375 


416 


364 


1048 
17 
62 


2082 
24 

86 


2824I 
43 
104 


38452 
162 
151 


50663 
III 


3. Mo.. 


. . .Students. . 
Schools.... 


238 


478 


S96 


573 


428 
23 


631 

52 


1206 
126 


1838 
128 


2903 
201 


4.111... 


. . .Students. . 
Schools., . . 


277 


3865 


'l\ 


362 
34 


469 
57 


810 
126 


2234 
172 


3729 
260 


S118 
316 


S. Ind. . 


. . .Students. . 


301 


42s 


349 


301 


339 


771 


1016 


1538 


2564 




Schools.. . . 




27 


33 


41 


109 


118 


158 


208 


326 


6. Iowa. 


...Students. . 
Schools.. . . 


448 


620 


S6o« 
32 


ni 


729 
90 


1307' 
104 


1438 


1560 
207 


2352 
26s 


7. Ohio. 


. . .Students. . 
Schools.. . . 




66 


235 


323 


493^. 
51 


808 
64 


1236 


IK 


30S0S 
294 


8. Tex. . 


. . .Students. . 
Schools... . 








208 
4 


307 
21 


630 
S6 


1041 
94 


i486 
99 


2594 
139 


9. Wis. . 


. . .Students. . 
Schools.... 


48s 


424 


483 
7 


387 
26 


11 


1520 
118 


2422 
190 


3342 
270 


5538 
314 



[899. 2 Data for 1904. 3 Data for 1909. * Upper column credited by Fac- 
ulty, lower column credited by High School Board. 5 Data for 1876. 'Data for 1881, 
' ^ ■ " " ' 8 Data for 1891. 



1 Data for 
Ity, lowei 
" Data for 



Observations Based on Table XIII 

The committee of the Faculty of the University of Michigan 
which recommended the discontinuance of school visitation, in 
1883, stated that while the diploma system was good for the 
schools it did not seem that it had increased the attendance at 
the university. Since the university up to that date had ac- 
credited only fifteen schools, it may be that the committee was 
correct. If that committee had been called upon to report ten 
years later, a very different condition would have confronted it. 
From 1885 to 1890, the number of accredited schools increased 



92 Admission to College by Certificate 

from twenty-nine to sixty-five and the university enrollment 
for the same period changed from 1295 students to 2153. The 
table shows that, in almost every instance, a large increase in the 
number of accredited schools was followed by a marked increase 
in enrollment. Striking examples may be noted in the cases of 
Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota for the period ending in 
1890, of Illinois in 1895, and of Missouri and Texas in 1900, 
A seeming exception occurs in the case of Indiana for the period 
ending with 1890. Two facts explain this apparent though not 
real exception. The preparatory department was dropped in 
1889 and the increase in number of accredited schools followed 
so closely that the gain from the schools had not had time to 
overcome the loss in the preparatory department and at the same 
time show much gain in total enrollment. The results of the 
change are better shown in the figures for 1896. 

Different factors entered into the large increases in numbers 
of accredited schools and the accompanying increases in college 
attendance. Many of these factors originated in the administra- 
tion of the accrediting system. When institutions dropped their 
preparatory departments they became more active in their work 
with the schools. The minutes show that any change in adminis- 
tration accompanied by a manifestation of interest in the 
problem of certification almost always gave an impetus to affilia- 
tion and enrollment. In practically every case, the appointment 
of a special inspector of schools was followed by a decided 
increase in the list of accredited schools and the enrollment of 
students. This statement may be verified by com^paring the 
dates of the appointments of inspectors in Table X with the 
numbers of schools accredited and the attendance for the same 
periods in Table XIII. 

The conclusion becomes evident, when the records are studied, 
that an interest on the part of the universities in the schools 
resulted almost directly in an increase in the number of ac- 
credited schools and a larger attendance of students at the 
higher institutions. 

Chapter Summary 

The new method of admission to college arose out of a desire 
to unite the two parts of state school systems. The plan not only 
had the advantage of its own intrinsic merits but the lack of 



Origin and Evolution of the System 93 

efficient preparatory schools and a dissatisfaction with the 
private academies contributed to its development. 

The original intention of the University of Michigan was to 
develop the high schools until they could do the work of the 
German Gymnasium, so that the university could do real uni- 
versity work. It was at first expected that the high school 
pupils would be examined by members of the Faculty of the 
University. Neither of these expectations was ever realized. 
Not only were the standards of entrance requirements forced 
down at first, but the formal examination of pupils was soon 
placed in the hands of the secondary school teachers. 

The first decade, after admission by certificate had been 
adopted by the University of Michigan, was productive of differ- 
ent plans for selecting the accredited schools. In Michigan and 
Wisconsin the lists were determined by the faculties ; in Indiana 
the State Board of Education was placed in control; while, in 
Ohio, all high schools in towns having a population of five 
thousand people, at the last census, were given the privilege of 
certification. Illinois began by providing for " county superin- 
tendents' certificates " admitting to the preparatory department, 
then allowed certain high schools to examine for the preparatory 
department and later designated two classes of schools, called 
" Examining Schools " and " Accredited Schools." The 
" Accredited Schools " alone had full power of certificating 
students to collegiate classes. 

The different institutions were all striving to perfect their 
systems. Michigan restricted certification to applicants known 
personally to principals, limited the life of the certificate to three 
months and provided that application should be made for an 
annual inspection. Indiana provided that none but graduates of 
high schools would be received, and Wisconsin discarded examin- 
ation by the graded schools. 

The disposition to get rid of preparatory departments was 
conspicuous. Although Minnesota had not inaugurated certifi- 
cation, no institution worked harder to develop a system of 
state high schools. Preparatory and collegiate students were 
separated in class work in Indiana. The only exception to the 
seeming desire to get rid of preparatory work was found in 
the opening of a preparatory department by the University of 
Illinois. 



94 Admission to College by Certificate 

The first ten years of the existence of the new system was 
characterized by the dispositions manifested rather than by 
actual results accomplished. At the close of the period the five 
institutions admitting students on certificate had, all together, 
accredited only 104 schools. 

The period closed with an attempt on the part of Michigan to 
ascertain the standing of certificated students. The report of the 
committee appointed by the faculty was slightly more favorable 
to certificated students. 

By 1890 all of the nine institutions were admitting students 
by certificate. The total number of schools accredited had risen 
from 104 to 583 within the decade. 

The work of the universities, for the period, consisted largely 
in the development of details in connection with their respective 
systems. The matter of the visitation of schools received much 
attention. In Michigan, the question came up in connection 
with the admission of students from schools in other states. 
Minnesota met the same problem by providing that schools in 
other states accredited by their own state universities might 
certificate students to the University of Minnesota. 

The classification of schools was undertaken by Iowa, 
Minnesota, and Illinois. Different institutions manifested a 
disposition to throw safeguards about certification and to define 
more fully regulations governing the privilege. 

Within this period the universities assisted in making courses 
of study for the high schools. The Faculty of the University of 
Minnesota was called upon to assist in suggesting a course for 
the schools to be commissioned by the High School Board. A 
joint meeting of university instructors and high school repre- 
sentatives was held at the University of Iowa, at which a course 
of study was adopted for the state. The University of Missouri 
refused to modify her preparatory course in response to a 
request of the State Teachers' Association, and, because of the 
refusal, failed to obtain the complete cooperation of the schools 
of the State within the decade under consideration. 

The second institution to investigate the record of certificated 
students was the University of Wisconsin. Students admitted 
by certificate were declared to be, on an average, of equal rank 
with those admitted by examination, with the qualification that 



Origin and Evolution of the System 95 

more " poor " students and more " good " students gained admis- 
sion by the latter method. 

The third decade of certification began to reveal the weak- 
nesses and needs of the system. Some of the institutions showed 
a disposition to return to admission by examination. Minnesota 
discussed the plan of requiring a certain number of entrance 
credits to be based upon examinations given by the High School 
Board; the Board of Visitors of the University of Wisconsin 
recommended that applicants for admission be required to present 
the examination papers on which they were graduated; a com- 
mittee of the faculty of the University of Texas proposed to 
require those who expected to graduate to take entrance 
examinations. 

The problem of visitation received much attention. Minnesota 
elected an inspector to serve under the High School Board, and 
thus broke direct connection between the faculty and the high 
school instructors. In Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, and 
Wisconsin special inspectors of schools were attached to the 
tmiversity faculties. 

Previous to 1891, the high schools were not so numerous and 
consequently their influence in educational councils was not 
stiong. In the following decade the schools steadily gained in 
power with the universities. During this period the higher and 
lower institutions may be said to have worked more together. 
Wisconsin accepted the high school courses arranged by the 
state department as standards for entrance requirements. The 
University of Michigan held a conference with the State 
Teachers' Association concerning admission requirements. The 
new requirements announced by the University of Missouri were 
first submitted tO' the State Teachers' Association and received 
the approval of that body. 

One of the most indicative signs that the higher and lower 
institutions were becoming united may be found in the revised 
methods for announcing entrance requirements. In earlier days 
the completion of a certain amount of designated texts was 
required for admission to definite courses, later entrance require- 
ments were announced in groups with certain limited options, 
and about the middle of this third decade of certification, the 
universities began to announce entrance requirements in 



96 Admission to College by Certificate 

" credits," " groups," or " units," with more " electives " than 
formerly. This movement represented a transfer from college 
standards to a high school basis in the announcement of entrance 
requirements, and marked one of the most important develop- 
ments in the history of college admission requirements. 

The period closing with 1910 witnessed a phenomenal develop- 
ment in high schools. This growth was partly due to the work 
of the universities. 

Visitation by special inspectors, connected with the higher 
institutions, brought out opposition and the period closed with 
a tendency to transfer inspection from university faculties to state 
departments and state boards of control. This tendency will 
receive attention in a later chapter. 

A certain dissatisfaction with the preparation of students was 
expressed by different institutions. From time to time entrance 
requirements were raised and the schools were pulled up to a 
higher grade of efficiency. The large numbers of schools ac- 
credited tended to make careful and frequent inspection impossi- 
ble, and institutions seemed forced to accept applicants from 
inefficient schools. 

Four of the most important steps connected with the certifi- 
cating system were the introduction of the new method of 
admission, the abolition of preparatory work from the higher 
institutions with the attendant effort to draw a line between 
preparatory and collegiate work, the appointment of special high 
school inspectors, and the change in the announcement of 
entrance requirements from the " course " system with no 
" electives " to the " unit " system with " electives." Table X 
furnishes assistance in the study of those movements and enables 
us to examine them from the standpoint of general rather than 
local import. 

The abolition of preparatory departments in some cases was 
hastened by the higher institutions; in others, they were forced 
out by the demands of the lower schools. The retention of the 
preparatory departments tended to impede the growth of second- 
ary schools. As long as the universities conducted such 
departments the faculties did not feel the need of throwing their 
individual support to high school development. The existence 
of preparatory classes in the universities also kept the high 



Origin and Evolution of the System 97 

schools from throwing their full support to the universities. The 
records show that when the higher institutions threw the prepara- 
tion of students upon the secondary schools an era of good 
feeling and cooperation ensued. 

The appointment of special inspectors was a distinct movement 
growing out of the increase in the number of high schools, to be 
visited and a general feeling that inspection by members of the 
faculties was not meeting the needs. A perceptible increase in the 
number of accredited schools almost always followed the ap- 
pointment of a special visitor. It may be noted from the table 
that the appointment of special inspectors, in the different states, 
with one exception, fell within a short period and thus shows that 
the movement was not local but general. 

The change in method of announcing entrance requirements 
was important, since it indicated that college entrance require- 
ments were henceforth to be measured by high school standards 
instead of college ideals. That this movement was also general 
and fell within a brief period may be seen by reference to 
Table X. 

The vital touch between the universities and secondary schools 
has been through the subjects of common interest. Those sub- 
jects were the ones offered by the schools and accepted by the 
colleges for admission. The subjects accepted by nine institu- 
tions within a period of forty years are named in Table XI. 

The branches meeting college entrance requirements within 
this period fall into different classes. Some subjects, although 
in favor at first, lost in popularity until they were practically 
eliminated from high school courses. Another class of sub- 
jects lost position for a time but returned in new forms. Others 
were developed in response to new social and economic condi- 
tions and, after a time, gained recognition as acceptable college 
entrance subjects. Still another class of subjects was so de- 
veloped from year to year that, at the end of forty years, they 
were practically new subjects. Exceedingly few, if any, of the 
subjects have remained the same in content. 

The whole matter of addition of subjects, of changes in con- 
tent, and of development of method in teaching, has been bound 
up with the question of certification. The attitude of the univer- 
sities toward high school subjects, from time to time, may be 
seen, in a measure, by reference to Table XI. 



9 8 Admission to College by Certificate 

Table XII enables one to see at a glance the decades in which 
different subjects were added to the lists accepted for admis- 
sion by the different institutions named. Some light is thrown 
upon the claim that college entrance requirements have domi- 
nated high school courses of study. The table shows that the 
claim is only partially true. The modern languages and sciences 
were taught in preparatory courses, and were included among 
the college entrance subjects before high schools existed in any 
considerable numbers in more than half of the states named. 
Indeed, there is strong evidence to support the claim that the 
universities, through certification, encouraged the teaching of 
the modern languages and sciences in the schools. At least it is 
certain that they assisted in developing them when they were 
once introduced. 

A different attitude was held by the universities toward the 
vocational subjects. The schools have been the aggressors with 
reference to these and have forced their recognition for admis- 
sion to college. Here it cannot be claimed that the colleges have 
dominated, for the schools have been the victors. The most 
that can be claimed is that the colleges, at first, did not assist 
with the vocational subjects. 

The effect of certification upon college attendance may be 
partly judged by reference to Table XIII. The data seem to 
indicate that any considerable increase in the number of ac- 
credited schools was, almost immediately, followed by an in- 
crease in university enrollment. And so closely did the increase 
in attendance follow upon the growth in the number of recog- 
nized schools that it can only be explained, in part at least, by 
the closer relationship between the colleges and secondary 
schools resulting from the link of certification. 



CHAPTER IV 

PRESENT DAY CONDITIONS OF ADMISSION TO 

COLLEGE BY CERTIFICATE IN THE 

UNITED STATES (1911) 

A critical study of the practices of leading institutions ad- 
mitting students on certificate discloses the fact that there are 
certain fundamental principles underlying all systems. Among 
these principles the following ones may be cited : ( i ) the loca- 
tion of authority for the selection and inspection of schools; 
(2) the methods used in testing and aiding schools; (3) the 
formal administration of the admission of students ; (4) the 
treatment of students and schools when once admitted; (5) the 
attitudes of the higher institutions toward courses of study in 
the lower schools ; and (6) the limitations placed upon the two 
parts of state school systems by constitutional and legislative 
enactments. With these general principles in mind an attempt 
will be made to classify the different systems, in use, under 
fairly well differentiated types. 

No effort will be made in this chapter to evaluate the merits 
and demerits of the various systems described; that part of the 
study will be reserved until after a survey is made of present 
day methods and conditions. 

For the purpose of examination and description, from the 
standpoints of control in the selection and inspection of schools, 
the following types have been selected: 

1. The New England College Entrance Certificate Board. 

2. State Board of Education; e.g., Indiana. 

3. High School Board; e.g., Minnesota. 

4. State Association of Colleges ; e.g., Alabama, Kentucky. 

5. State University; e.g., Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, 
Texas, etc. 

6. State Department of Education; e.g.. New York, Florida, 
etc. 

99 



loo Admission to College by Certificate 

7. Joint control by State University and State Department of 
Education; e.g., West Virginia. 

8. Special Types of Individual Institutions; e.g., University 
of Chicago, Vanderbilt University, Columbia University, Har- 
vard University. 

9, District Control; e.g., Commission on Accredited Schools 
and Colleges of the North Central States. 

10, First step toward National System; e.g., the acceptance 
by institutions of students from other states when they come 
from schools accredited by State Universities. 

Type One 
The New England College Entrance Certificate Board 

" On Friday, May 16, 1902, delegates from nine colleges met 
at Boston University to establish a Board for the purpose of re- 
ceiving, examining and acting upon all applications of schools 
that should ask for the privilege of certification."^ 

The Board, organized on the day named, is still in existence. 
It has issued nine annual reports. No attempt will be made to 
give an outline of all of the reports since the last one furnishes 
the main facts of interest bearing immediately upon this study. 
The statements which follow are based upon the Ninth Annual 
Report of the Board, dated May 12, 191 1, unless otherwise ac- 
credited. 

The Board is composed of thirteen members, or one repre- 
sentative from each of the thirteen institutions supporting the 
organization. The thirteen institutions holding membership on 
the Board are Amherst College, Boston University, Bowdoin 
College, Brown University, Dartmouth College, Mount Holyoke 
College, Smith College, Tufts College, University of Maine, 
University of Vermont, Wellesley College, Wesleyan Univer- 
sity, and Williams College. 

Membership on the Board is limited to colleges in New Eng- 
land and may be obtained by a majority vote of the faculties of 
the colleges already accepted.^ 

The regular annual meeting of the Board is held in May. A 
salary of five hundred dollars per annum is received by the 

^ First Annual Report, New England College Entrance Certificate Board, 

p. 5- 
' By-Laws : First Annual Report, p. 7. 



Present Day Conditions in United States loi 

secretary. The board has not changed secretaries since the date 
of its organization. 

No college holding membership in the organization may ac- 
cept students on certificate from schools within the jurisdiction 
of the Board unless such schools have been approved. Different 
institutions are free to make such regulations with reference to 
requirements, not covered by the certificates presented by any 
applicant, as they may choose, but certificates must be accepted 
from approved schools for the work covered. 

The expenses are provided for by assessing the colleges hav- 
ing representation on the Board in proportion to the number of 
students received by certificate from New England schools. The 
rules of the Board are in substance as follows :^ 

1. Schools desiring approval must make application to the secretary of 
the board giving full details concerning " courses of study, teachers, and 
equipment." 

2. Applications must be received by April i, and " are acted upon at 
the annual meeting in May." 

3. " No school is placed upon the approved list unless it can prepare 
for college according to some one of the recognized plans of entering a 
college represented on this board." 

4. " No school is approved unless it has shown by the record of its 
students already admitted to college its ability to give thorough prepara- 
tion for college." 

5. Schools rejected or dropped from the list must send three satisfac- 
tory students to one or more of the colleges belonging to the association 
inside three years before a new appHcation for approval will be consid- 
ered. If four years elapse after the school is rejected, or dropped, before 
the conditions named are met, the request will be treated as an original 
application. 

6. A school, not under Rule Five, meeting all other requirements and 
having sent two satisfactory students to one or more of the colleges, 
represented on the board, in three years and having a candidate for admis- 
sion for the next year may be put on the trial list for one year. 

Also a school otherwise meeting requirements but not having sent the 
required students to college may be allowed to send one or more students 
on certificate for the purpose of establishing a record for the school. The 
names of the students and the names of the colleges to which they desire 
to go must be filed with the secretary of the board in advance. The school 
sending such students on trial will be dealt with in the light of the records 
made by its representatives. 

7. "A school is judged by the record of students who have entered 
college with the consent of its principal." 

This rule is evidently intended to release the principals from responsi- 
' Ninth Annual Report, pp. 18, 19 and 20. 



I02 Admission to College by Certificate 

bility in cases where students are admitted by examination and afterward 
make poor records. 

8. " No school is approved for more than three years. The approval of 
a school dates from the first day of January of the year in which the 
approval is granted." 

9. " No school is placed on the approved list for three years until it 
has been placed on the trial Hst for one year." 

10. Schools may not be approved because of unsatisfactory records of 
students in colleges represented on the board, because of weak courses of 
study, inefficient instructing force or equipment, and because of ineHgi- 
bility under Rule Five. 

11. A school on the trial list or on the fully approved list must apply 
for continuation on the list byj April ist of the year in which its period 
of approval expires. 

12. An approved school not having sent a pupil to a college, repre- 
sented on the board, in three years and having a pupil to send the follow- 
ing year may be placed on the trial list for one year. 

13. Approval may be withdrawn from a school at any time. 

14. Certificates which do not cover all of the requirements of any col- 
lege may be treated as the rules of such college may prescribe. A certifi- 
cate from a school not approved by the board may not be received by any 
co-operating college "unless the school lies outside the jurisdiction of the 
board." 

15. Reports of students for at least one-third of the first year in col- 
lege with complaints of insufficient preparation must be made by colleges 
to the board, along with such other information as may be required. 
Reports may also be made to the schools. 

16. The list of approved schools is published in the annual report of 
the board. 

Among the distinctive features of Type One may be noted 
the following: (i) approval of schools based on college re- 
cords; (2) period of approval, at most, three years; (3) final 
authority of approval not located in faculties but in a board 
composed of one representative from each institution belonging 
to the organization; (4) absence of personal inspection of 
schools; (5) close watch kept upon the student's first year's 
work in college. 

Type Two 
Control of Inspection and Selection of Accredited Schools Lo- 
cated in a State Board 

In 1873, the Board of Trustees of Indiana University voted 
to accept students on certificate from such high schools as the 
State Board of Education might designate.* 

* Minutes of Board of Trustees, July 18, 1873. 



Present Day Conditions in United States 103 

The State Board at that time was composed of the Governor, 
the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the President of 
Indiana University, the President of the State Normal School, 
and the superintendents of schools in the three largest cities 
of the state. Since that time the Board has been enlarged by 
adding the President of Purdue University, and three citizens 
of prominence to be selected by the Governor.^ This board, as 
thus constituted, examines and commissions high schools in In- 
diana meeting such standards as may be established. The higher 
educational institutions of the state accept students on certificate 
from all schools commissioned by the board. 

The following rules govern the board in selecting commis- 
sioned high schools :® 

1. " The commissioned high schools shall include not less than four 
(4) years' work following the eight years in the elementary schools." '' 

2. " The following enumerated studies shall be taught in all commis- 
sioned high schools throughout the state, together with such additional 
studies as any local board of education may elect to have taught in its 
high school: Provided, that such additions shall be subject to the revi- 
sion of the State Board of Education, Mathematics : Commercial arith- 
metic, algebra, geometry. History: United States, ancient, medieval or 
modern. Geography: Commercial or physical. English: 'Composition, 
rhetoric. Literature: English, American. Language (foreign): Latin or 
German. Science: Biology, physics, chemistry. Civil government: gen- 
eral, state. Drawing. Music." * 

In addition to the subjects named the board has approved the teaching 
of " Agriculture, Manual Training, Sewing, Cooking, Domestic Science 
and Domestic Economy." 

3. Schools must meet certain requirements with reference to buildings, 
libraries and laboratories. 

4. (a) "The teaching in the high school and also in the grades below 
the high school must be good." (b) "At least two teachers must give all 
their time to high school work. One of the teachers in the high school 
must be a graduate of a college course that requires at least three full 
years of work beyond graduation from a commissioned high school." 

5. (a) Minimum length of course thirty- two months, (b) Course 
must provide for all legally required subjects and such others as local 
authorities may deem advisable, (c) Advise that few studies be pursued 
one, two or three years and that no science be taught for less than one 
year, (d) Music and drawing must be taught, (e) "All courses that 

"School Laws of Indiana, 1911, p. 34. 

* See Uniform Course of Study for Commissioned, Certified and Ac- 
credited High Schools of Indiana, 1911, pp. 5, 6 and 7. 
'' Based upon State Law, approved March 9, 1907. 

' Ibid. 



I04 Admission to College by Certificate 

prepare for college should provide for at least three years of foreign 
language." 

6. (a) " Complete records must be kept showing the academic progress 
of each pupil." (b) " When a pupil is advanced from another school the 
record must show what standing was given and why." 

7. If non-commissioned high schools arrange their courses properly 
the board will grant " certificates of equivalency " for work done so that 
pupils may pass from non-commissioned to commissioned high schools 
without loss of time. 

Schools are usually commissioned for a period of three years 
but should the superintendent be changed a new inspection must 
follow as early as possible. 

For purposes of inspection the state is divided into ten dis- 
tricts. With the exception of the Governor, one district is as- 
signed to each member of the board. Indiana may be said to 
have ten different inspectors of commissioned high schools. 

The special features of the Indiana system may be sum- 
marized as follows : ( i ) the higher institutions, not by law but 
by choice, have largely given the determination of their entrance 
requirements into the hands of the State Board; (2) the selec- 
tion of schools is partly based upon provisions in the State 
Law and partly upon rules established by the board; (3) the in- 
spection of schools is divided among ten .members of the board 
— the Governor not being assigned a district for school visita- 
tion; (4) so far as the minutes of the State Board show there 
is no fixed plan for using the college records of students in 
any extensive way in checking up the work of the high schools ; 
and (5) because of the form of the system used, the members 
of the faculties of the higher institutions do not have the right, 
nor do they attempt, to inspect the schools in any systematic 
way. 

Type Three 

Schools Under Control of High School Board Employing 
Special Inspectors 

In 1881, the Legislature of Minnesota provided for a " High 
School Board " to be composed of the Governor, the State 
Superintendent of Public Instruction and the President of the 
University of Minnesota.^ At the time this board was created, 
funds were provided for supplying state aid to certain high 

° See Chapter 144, General Laws of 1881. 



Present Day Conditions in United States 105 

schools. One of the conditions upon which schools might pro- 
cure assistance was " that there be regular and orderly courses 
of study, embracing all the branches prescribed as prerequisite 
for admission to the collegiate department of the University of 
Minnesota." 

Few more interesting problems in education may be en- 
countered than may be found in a study of the interrelations of 
the University of Minnesota and the High School Board, as re- 
corded in the minutes of both organizations for a period of 
thirty years. It is probable that the original high school law 
was due largely to university influences. The President of the 
University has always been a member of the board; and, until 
1893, the inspection and examination of the schools were looked 
after by him. Since that time the board has employed special 
inspectors but the formal examinations remained under the di- 
rection of a representative of the University, until 191 1. 

The composition of the High School Board has been changed 
since it was first organized and now consists of " the State 
Superintendent, the president of the state university, and the 
president of the board of normal school directors, ex-officio, 
and the superintendent or principal of a high school, and one 
other person appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the 
senate. . . ."^« 

Before presenting the rules which are employed in selecting 
" state high schools," attention should be called to two potent 
means of control at the board's command. The comparatively 
large sum of money distributed by authority of the board to 
such schools as it may select arouses the greatest local effort 
on the part of the people. Indeed, the selection of schools and 
the assignment of funds become a difficult task as may be 
learned from the following statement: "As stated before, the 
High School Board has found the creation of a high school 
list a delicate proposition. No matter what system or rules 
and regulations may be adopted, the districts just below the line 
feel that they are entitled to leniency, that they are maintain- 
ing as strong schools as certain towns already on the list. Pres- 

"Laws of Minnesota Relating to the Public School System, 191 1, p. 77. 



io6 Admission to College by Certificate 

sure comes from various sources. Merchants consider that a 
high school brings young people and trade to a town ; real estate 
men consider a state high school an aid in settling up a new 
region. . . . How and where to draw the line is the 
question."^^ 

Along with this inciting influence the board also has one of 
control. From almost the time the board was organized until 
the present it has conducted an extensive system of written ex- 
aminations. These examinations may be held in all schools of 
a certain grade. The board may take these examinations into 
account in passing upon a school if it so desires. While these 
examinations are usually optional with the schools they are 
taken in considerable numbers and serve to a marked degree in 
toning up the high schools of the entire state. Certificates are 
issued, even on single subjects, by the High School Board to 
successful applicants. As already stated these examinations 
were for years immediately under the direction of the President 
of the University. 

The following is a summary of the more important regula- 
tions of the board governing state high schools :^^ 

Conditions of Acceptance: 

1. Adequate building and equipment. 

2. A well-organized school of eight grades below the high school. 

3. Sufficient library, laboratories, maps, globes, and reading matter for 

different grades. 

4. A well qualified superintendent. 

5. Liberal salaries. 

6. School district must have a total population of 1000, an assessed valua- 

tion of $200,000, and not less than 200 pupils. 

Rules for Conduct of the School: 

1. A session of nine months each year. 

2. Every school shall have two teachers, beside the superintendent, giving 

full time to high school work. 

3. Specific requirements concerning expenditures for laboratory material, 

for certain subjects, and for reference books. 

" Seventeenth Ann. Rept. of Inspector of State High Schools of Minne- 
sota, p. 4. 
^^ Ibid., pp. 48, 49 and 50. 



Present Day Conditions in United States 107 

Teachers' Qualifications : 

1. Special regulations concerning grades of certificates for the different 

classes. 

2. "The superintendent and high school instructors shall hold profes- 

sional certificates of the first class." These certificates are obtained 
on the basis of graduation from a four years' college course or on 
examination. Professional certificates from other states are not 
accepted. 

Schools once accepted are rated as " state high schools " and 
receive aid for at least two years. 

The University of Minnesota accepts the graduates of state 
high schools having four-year courses providing they can meet 
these conditions : Applicants must be able to present credits 
for four years of work in English, one in Algebra and one in 
Plane Geometry, with nine other credits selected from a large 
list, and the applicant must show that the work was done in the 
high school with a " passed with credit " or " passed with 
honor " grade. 

In addition to the list of " state high schools " the university 
has a small list of its own from which students are received 
on certificate. The university list is visited and accredited by 
the faculty. Private schools and a few city schools not desiring 
to avail themselves of state aid compose the independent list. 
Further details will be reserved until some evaluation of the 
High School Board system is attempted. 

Type Three presents definite factors which may be recapitu- 
lated as follows: (i) A High School Board, created by law to 
supervise schools and distribute state aid; (2) special inspectors 
employed by the board and not connected with the state depart- 
ment or with any higher institution of learning; (3) the use of 
an extensive system of written examinations conducted under 
the direction of an examiner appointed by the board; (4) the 
acceptance of certificates by the university from schools ap- 
proved by the board but with certain limitations ; ( 5 ) the main- 
tenance of an individual list of schools by the university; and 
(6) records made by students admitted on certificate are com- 
municated to the high school inspectors and to the schools. 



io8 Admission to College by Certificate 

Type Four 
Schools Accredited by a State Association of Colleges 

The last five years have witnessed a persistent and fruitful 
effort in the Southern states to differentiate preparatory from 
collegiate work. With few exceptions all of the Southern col- 
leges were conducting preparatory departments or doing much 
preparatory work in connection with college classes ten years ago. 
Within the last decade great strides have been made. Among 
the most conspicuous movements must be ranked the organiza- 
tion of different state associations of colleges. These organiza- 
tions have for their object the establishment and maintenance of 
higher educational standards in secondary and higher institu- 
tions of learning. 

As a good example of the type of associations indicated, " the 
Association of Alabama Colleges " may be taken. On April 13, 
1908, the presidents of ten degree-granting colleges in Alabama 
met at Montgomery and effected the organization named 
above.^^ 

" The purposes of the organization as stated at the time were 
(i) to encourage the growth of high schools by raising college 
entrance requirements; (2) to elevate college standards; (3) to 
bring about a unity of educational endeavor among the colleges 
themselves." 

At the third annual meeting of the association, March 24, 
19 10, among other resolutions the following was passed: 
" That, for the purpose of selecting a common list of accredited 
schools and preparing uniform examinations for applicants com- 
ing from unaccredited schools, there shall be a joint committee 
consisting of one member from the faculty of each college be- 
longing to the association." 

This committee was empowered to select and publish a list of 
accredited schools. The committee thus provided met the next 
month and selected its first list of approved schools. On April 
29, 191 1, the following regulations were adopted for the affili- 
ation of schools:^* 



Bulletin of the Association of Alabama Colleges, 191 1, p. 3. 
Ibid., pp. 5 and 6. 



Present Day Conditions in United States 109 

I. For full affiliation a school must have a four-year high school course 
based upon seven years of elementary work. The school must have at 
least three teachers giving full time to high school instruction. Recitation 
periods must be at least forty minutes long. 

'2. For partial affiliation, a three-year high school course, two teachers 
wholly employed in high school work and forty-minute recitation periods 
are required. 

3. Schools desiring approval must make appHcation to the secretary of 
the association, 

4. For the purpose of inspection the state is divided into districts and 
each member of the association visits the schools in one district. 

5. Schools must make such reports to the secretary of the association 
as may be required. 

6. A school applying for recognition will be visited by the secretary of 
the association or by some one designated to do so. 

7. Each college in the association is expected to submit, by February 15 
of each year, a list of new students, with name of school from which 
each came, whether admitted by certificate or by examination, and the 
number of entrance units presented. 

The "Association of Kentucky Colleges" has a similar com- 
mittee on accredited schools but its methods of control do not 
differ materially from those described. 

In this type of administering certification, (i) the colleges 
delegate authority to a committee composed of college repre- 
sentatives; (2) the association is altogether voluntary and is not 
guided or restrained by state law; (3) the schools are visited 
by representatives of the different colleges ; (4) all students en- 
tering the Freshman classes are reported to the committee; (5) 
uniformity in credits and entrance requirements must be ob- 
served; (6) the expenses are pro-rated among the members of 
the association. 

Type Five 

Control Lodged in State Universities 

The absolute control of its own entrance requirements was 
denied to no institution of higher learning until within recent 
years. For this reason the origin and development of the cer- 
tificating system has been largely in the hands of the higher in- 
stitutions. Many of the state universities have determined the 
the regulations governing the affiliation and inspection of ac- 
credited schools in their respective states. With variations in 
different states a distinct type of university control prevails. 



no Admission to College by Certificate 

Differences in the administration of the university type of 
control may be noted in the authority entrusted with the final 
approval of schools and in methods of inspection. The final 
authority for passing on the selection of schools may be vested in 
the General Faculty, as at the University of Texas ; in the Faculty 
of Liberal Arts, as formerly at the University of Iowa; or, in 
a committee of the faculty appointed by the president, as at the 
University of Missouri. The minutes of faculties examined 
give evidence that single individuals have been, at times, en- 
trusted with the acceptance or rejection of schools. In all such 
cases, however, the university as an institution is held respon- 
sible for the final action. Likewise different methods are used 
by the different universities in the visitation and inspection of 
schools. Formerly, in California, the different subjects in the 
high schools were inspected by instructors from the university 
doing similar work. In Wisconsin, three or four members of 
the faculty may inspect a school at the same time. In other 
states the regular inspector may be assisted by such members 
of the faculty as may be adapted to the work, as in Texas ; or, 
still, the regular inspector may do practically all of the work, as 
in Missouri. 

The steps required for the affiliation of schools as well as the 
regulations observed vary with different states. No attempt 
will be made to give the practices in all states. Texas and Mis- 
souri will be used as types, the former to represent the steps 
observed and the latter to indicate standards required. The 
steps observed by the University of Texas in placing any school 
on the accredited list are in substance as follows :^^ 

1. Schools must first make voluntary application for recognition. 

2. Memoranda blanks must be filled out giving data concerning courses 
of study in the different branches, numbers and qualifications of teachers, 
information concerning equipment and such facts as may give some idea 
of the efficiency of the school. 

3. The course of study must be approved by the high school visitor. 

4. Examination papers written by pupils and graded by the high school 
teachers, the questions prepared in the schools, are requested. These 
examination papers are read by instructors in the university and a report 
is made to the high school visitor. 

5. The school is visited and inspected. 

" Catalogue 1910-1911, p. 445. 



Present Day Conditions in United States 1 1 1 

6. The high school visitor, taking into account the report on the papers 
and the results of the inspection, makes a recommendation to the general 
faculty. The action of the faculty is communicated through the office of 
the high school visitor to the superintendent of the school. 

The following requirements for the accrediting of schools are 
announced by the University of Missouri -^-^ 

1. Four years' course of nine-month terms. 

2. Three teachers, one of whom may be the superintendent. Teachers 
limited to six periods of teaching per day. Graduates of colleges strongly 
recommended for high, school teachers. 

3. One laboratory science must be taught in the school. 

4. Good equipment for teaching EngUsh and History. Adequate Hbrary 
and maps. 

5. At least fifteen units of work must be required for graduation. 

6. The school must give instruction in EngHsh, 3 units; Mathematics, 
2 units ; History, 2 units ; one Foreign Language, 2 units ; Science, 2 units ; 
and at least 4 units selected from an indicated elective list. 

Characteristics are found in Type Five, not encountered in 
the others described, which may be epitomized as follows : ( i ) 
complete control of selection of schools and school visitation 
centered in one institution; (2) various methods of inspection 
used, such as visitation by one inspector for all subjects, inspec- 
tion by committees and inspection of each subject by a specialist 
from the faculty; (3) careful steps observed in accrediting 
schools ; (4) a disposition to make a close connection between 
the work of the schools and the work of the colleges. 

Type Six 
Control Through State Departments 

In a few states the matter of certificating students has been 
placed by law within the power of the state superintendent of 
public instruction. New York, Florida, and South Dakota may 
be named as examples. 

New York does not properly come within the requirements 
of a bona Ude certificating system. In accordance with the 
regulations of the Board of Regents and under the immediate 
supervision of the commissioner of education, an extensive 
system of examinations is conducted. Certificates are issued 

"Circular of Information to Accredited Schools, 1911, p. 7. 



112 Admission to College by Certificate 

upon the basis of the examinations. These certificates may be 
tendered for admission to college, but no law provides that they 
shall be accepted. 

At present the state law of South Dakota places the control 
of high schools and the matter of certification entirely with the 
state department. In view of the fact that the state superin- 
tendent appoints the board delegated to suggest a uniform 
course of study and that the university bases its entrance re- 
quirements on that course, the state department of Florida may 
control the college admission requirements of the state. The 
laws for South Dakota and Florida will be quoted later in this 
chapter. 

The important factors in this type of control are, ( i ) it places 
the authority for the control of admission requirements outside 
the college, and (2) it tends to break the direct connection be- 
tween the teaching bodies of the higher and lower institutions. 

Type Seven 

Joint Control by State University and State Department of 
Education 

In different states, for example, Missouri, Ohio, and Wis- 
consin, a double system of school inspection prevails. In some 
cases the two sets of inspectors exchange reports, in others, the 
state inspectors give more attention to the smaller schools while 
the university inspectors visit the larger ones. In still other 
states the two sets of inspectors work independently. 
, The cases suggested are not good examples of what may be 
designated joint control. A good illustration of this type is 
found in West Virginia. There the inspection of high schools 
is done in connection with the state superintendent's office by 
the professor of secondary education of the university faculty. 
The inspector makes two reports, one to the state superintendent 
and one to the university. A committee of the faculty has full 
control of all matters pertaining to accredited schools.^^ Thus 
inspection is carried on under the auspices of the state depart- 
ment and the control of accrediting schools is lodged in a com- 
mittee of the faculty of the university. 

" Catalogue, 19 11, p. 32. 



Present Day Conditions in United States 113 

Special Types 
Individual Independent Institutions 

1. The Vanderhilt Plan 

The Chancellor of Vanderbilt University, in a circular letter 
dated from time to time and sent to principals of preparatory- 
schools, uses the following words : " When a school has been 
tested successfully by the examination of its pupils for a number 
of years, and it is found that the school quite regularly sends 
some of its graduates to college, where their preparation can be 
further tested in class, the privilege of entering its students with- 
out examination is granted for a limited period." 

It ma)'- be observed that the principles underlying this plan 
are not different from those applied by the New England College 
Entrance Certificate Board. In the case of Vanderbilt Uni- 
versity the complete control is in the hands of one institution. 
It is also probable that the single institution keeps in personal 
touch with the teachers of its accredited schools. When the 
fact is considered that Vanderbilt has limited the number of its 
accredited schools to probably twenty-five or thirty, it may be 
concluded that not only is a close watch kept upon the schools, 
but that the system as applied is merely a supplement to the 
system of admission by examination. 

2. The Columbia Plan 

In 1909, the President of Columbia University announced a 
new plan fqr the admission of students to Columbia College.^^ 
The gist of this plan may be given best by means of quotations 
from the announcement. " We have discontinued," said Presi- 
dent Butler, " the separate committees on admission, which have 
heretofore passed upon the applications of students who desired to 
enter either Columbia College, Barnard College, or the Schools of 
Applied Science. We have united these three committees and 
their work in one body, to be known as the Committee on Under- 
graduate Admission. This committee will have jurisdiction over 
all questions relating to the admission of any student who comes 
to Columbia University for undergraduate work of any kind 
whatsoever. To the chairmanship of this committee an officer 

^* President Nicholas Murray Butler, A Ne-w Method of Admission to 
College, Educational Review, Vol. 38 (1909). 



114 Admission to College by Certificate 

has been appointed of professional rank, with no other present 
duties." '^^ The officer indicated is expected to keep in personal 
touch with teachers and schools sending students to Columbia 
College. The announcement continues : " We shall not permit 
schools to certificate pupils to us as qualified for college admis- 
sion without examination, but we shall ask schools tO' give us 
transcripts of the records of their pupils, in order that consider- 
ation may be given to these records, together with the results of 
the college admission examination." ^^ 

Considerable light is thrown upon the application of the 
system by the following statements : " It is obvious that under 
this plan a student who has obtained a very excellent school 
record for three or four years, would have to make a pretty poor 
exhibition at the college admission examination in order not 
to be admitted. A student with a bad school record would have 
to pass a very excellent examination to get in. . . . In addition 
to that, we propose that in doubtful cases, before a decision is 
arrived at, either in the affirmative or the negative, there shall 
be a personal interview between the candidate and the chairman 
of the Committee on Undergraduate Admission." ^^ 

The further statement is made that it is proposed that the 
committee on admission shall keep in touch with students after 
they are admitted tO' college. 

It may be claimed that this plan does not properly come under 
a so-called system of certification. President Butler specifically 
states that all students must pass entrance examinations. If the 
certificate report of a student's work is permitted to over-balance 
the examination record, it would seem that in such case the 
student would, in fact, be admitted on certificate and not on 
examination. This point is immaterial so far as the purpose of 
the presentation of this plan is concerned. 

Since certification of high school records enters as a factor, 
it seems proper to present an outline of the plan. 

3. The Harvard Plan 

The new plan of admission to Harvard College became effec- 
tive June, 191 1. Previous to that time, the plan was announced 

" Educational Review, Vol. 38, p. 165. 
'"Ihid., p. 166. 
'^ Ihid., p. 167. 



Present Day Conditions in United States 115 

to the principals and headmasters of secondary schools through 
the Chairman of the Committee on Admission. The require- 
ments as found in that letter are here given : " A candidate ( i ) 
must present evidence of an approved school course satisfactorily- 
completed; (2) and must show in four examinations as 
explained below that his scholarship is of a satisfactory quality : 

" School Record 

" A candidate must present to the Committee on Admission evidence of 
his secondary school work in the form of an official detailed statement 
showing (a) the subjects studied by him and the ground covered; (b) the 
amount of time devoted to each; (c) the quality of work in each subject. 

" To be approved, this statement must show (a) that the candidate's 
secondary school course has extended over four years ; (b) that his course 
has been concerned chiefly with languages, science, mathematics, and his- 
tory, no one of which has been omitted; (c) that two of the studies of his 
school programme have been pursued beyond their elementary stages, i. e., 
to the stage required by the present advanced examinations of Harvard 
College or the equivalent examinations of the College Entrance Examina- 
tion Board. 

" The examinations 

" If the official detailed statement presented by the candidate shows that 
he has satisfactorily completed an approved secondary school course, he 
may present himself for examination in four subjects as follows: (a) 
English; (b) Latin, or, for candidates for the degree of S.B., French or 
German; (c) Mathematics, or Physics, or Chemistry; (d) any subject, 
not already selected under (b) or (c), from the following list: Greek, 
French, German, History, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry. 

" These four examinations must be taken at one time, either in June or 
in September." 

It is claimed for this plan that it gives great liberty to schools 
in the adjustment of their own courses, and that no detailed 
adjustment of units of work is necessary ; and that the examina- 
tions given on the four subjects selected by the candidate are 
sufficiently broad to meet all needs of good teaching wherever 
done. Examinations are considered in connection with the 
school records. No students are admitted with conditions. 

Again, it is the element of certification on high school work 
involved, and not the claim that Harvard has a complete certifi- 
cating system, that leads to the introduction of the Harvard plan 
in this review of systems. 



ii6 Admission to College by Certificate 

4. The Chicago Plan 
The principal features of the revised plan of admission to the 
University of Chicago may be summarized as follows :-^ 

Requirements 

1. Fifteen units or the work of a full four-year high school course. 

2. Three years of high school work in English (the only subject spe- 
cifically prescribed). 

3. In addition to the requirement in English, the applicant must have 
studied one other topic at least three years and a third topic at least two 
years. These subjects are to be selected from five groups, viz.: (i) An- 
cient and Classical Languages ; (2) Modern Languages ; (3) History, Eco- 
nomics, Civics; (4) Mathematics; (5) the Natural Sciences. 

" The remainder of the students' time may be devoted to any subjects 
which the school accepts for its own diploma." ^' 

It is Stated that a careful examination of schools will be made 
before putting them on the approved list. The following quota- 
tion will be discussed later in making an evaluation of the 
Chicago plan : " H.eretofore the schools have been obliged to 
meet a test of personal inspection by an examining officer of the 
university. Hereafter representatives of the schools are to be 
invited to come to the university to visit the classes in which 
work is done continuing that of the schools." ^* 

The plan of admission is bound up with certain requirements 
for graduation. The student must continue through his Fresh- 
man year some one of the subjects studied extensively in the 
high school. Before the end of the second year he must read 
readily some modern language other than his own. The student 
is required to take at least three college courses in his own 
language. Other requirements are announced for graduation 
but are not vital to the question under immediate consideration. 

Such, in outline, is the new Chicago plan. That it is a real 
certificating system of admission, seems evident. 

District Types 
Commission Control 
At the sixth annual meeting of the North Central Association 
of Colleges and Secondary Schools, March 29, 1901, a paper 

^^ New Plans for Entrance and Graduation at the University of Chicago, 
James Rowland Angell, M.A., The University of Chicago Magazine, 
July, 191 1, pp. 283-285. 

^' Ibid., p. 284. 

^Ibid., pp. 284, 285. 



Present Day Conditions in United States 117 

was read by Dean S. A. Forbes, of the University of Illinois, 
on the subject: "The Desirability of so Federating the North 
Central Colleges and Universities as to Secure Essentially 
Uniform or at least Equivalent Entrance Requirements." ^' 
As an outcome of that paper and the discussion which followed, 
a committee was appointed to report on a plan for carrying out 
the suggestions made. The movement led to the organization 
of a Commission on Accredited Schools and Colleges of the 
North Central States. 

Since annual reports of that commission are issued, it does 
not seem necessary to attempt to give in detail the form and 
work of the organization. It does seem proper in this con- 
nection to set forth some general facts relating to the object and 
work of the Commission. 

The universities and colleges in the North Central Association 
were constantly receiving students from other than their own 
states. Some were from good schools and some were from poor 
ones. As the number of schools increased it became impossible 
for the universities in the several states to inspect all schools 
presenting applicants for admission. And so, the commission 
was organized for the purpose of pooling interests and dividing 
responsibility. 

The commission selects a list of schools of unquestioned merit, 
from which all the colleges may accept students on certificate. 
The visitation of the schools is done by the several state in- 
spectors. " The accrediting shall be by vote of the association 
upon the recommendation of the commission based upon the 
report of the committee of inspection." ^^ 

The requirements of the commission are in general higher 
than those of the different states, the desire being to select only 
the best schools in the several states for approval. 

In 191 1, the Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools 
of the Southern States began the organization of a commission 
similar to that of the North Central States. 

'° Proc. North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, 
1901. 

^ Report of the Commission on Accredited Schools and Colleges of the 
North Central Association, 1910, p. 5. 



ii8 Admission to College by Certificate 

A Step Toward a National System 

A method of wider practice than any so far described is prob- 
ably to be found in the admission of students on certificate when 
the school from which the applicant comes is approved by its 
own state university. As early as 1887, Minnesota voted to 
adopt this general policy. Since that time the practice has 
steadily increased. The wide differences of high school and 
college standards in the different states, at present, subtract from 
the efficiency of the policy and even imperil the expediency of its 
use. Nevertheless with all of its weaknesses the method is widely 
used. 

Methods Used in Testing Schools 

Every system of admission by certificate, worthy of considera- 
tion, must employ some means for testing the work of its 
accredited schools. The methods in common use may be de- 
scribed under four heads: (i) reports; (2) inspection; (3) 
examination of high school pupils ; and (4) records of students 
in college. The types of systems previously described all use 
one or more of these means. Some discussion of the details of 
the four methods suggested will be made. 

I. Reports 

So far as has been ascertained, no secondary school in the 
United States is required by law to make reports to higher insti- 
tutions of learning. In some states reports must be made to 
boards if certain aid is desired, but the legally required reports 
are almost always made to the state departments of education. 
This means that such information as colleges secure from the 
secondary schools must be voluntary. Notwithstanding the high 
schools are at liberty to refuse to make reports, the desire for 
recognition and the privilege of certification rarely fail to pro- 
duce all information desired by the colleges ; and furthermore 
it is usually furnished with kindly spirit. Requests for detailed 
reports frequently cause superintendents and school boards to 
take inventory of their conditions, and reveal weaknesses not 
previously recognized. 

A collection has been made of report-blanks used by different 
state boards, state universities, state college associations and 



Present Day Conditions in United States 119 

independent colleges. Institutions vary widely in the amount of 
information required. The University of Oregon accredits 
schools provisionally on the statement of the principal that his 
school is carrying out the regular four-year state high school 
course; the University of Virgina bases recognition upon a four- 
page report on seventy-six different items ; and in many cases 
the items are subdivided. 

Four general types of reports are used : ( i ) reports of princi- 
pals, superintendents and school boards upon which original 
recognition may be partly based; (2) reports of inspectors; (3) 
reports of the work done by individual graduates of schools; 
and (4) annual reports made to the colleges by the high school 
authorities. 

As stated, the number and content of these different reports 
vary greatly. The more comprehensive examples of the first 
type deal minutely with (a) buildings, equipment, libraries, 
laboratories, references ; (b) school organization, grades, number 
of pupils; (c) preparation and number of teachers; (d) course 
of study; and (e) support of school. The reports compiled by 
inspectors deal with some of the items mentioned but in addition 
refer to methods of teaching, discipline, personalities of teachers 
and school officials, and to the spiritual side of the school. The 
reports on the work of individual pupils are usually in the form 
of entrance certificates and give the subjects completed, the time 
used, text-books studied, and class grades obtained. Finally, the 
annual reports required while repeating, in the main, the same 
general type of information required for original affiliation, 
enable the colleges to judge of changes made in the course of 
study, the corps of teachers, the up-keep of physical conditions 
and any general tendencies to raise or lower the efficiency of the 
school. 

2. Inspection 

The second means of gaining necessary information concern- 
ing the efficiency of the high school work is that of personal 
visitation. The terms " inspector " and " inspection " do not 
properly represent either the person or the work done by a com- 
petent university representative visiting a high school. The title 
" visitor " seems to some not only less offensive to the popular 
ear but more nearly appears to represent the capacity in which 



I20 Admission to College by Certificate 

the one delegated by the higher institution should appear in the 
lower one. 

The universities send their representatives not only to inspect, 
to look into, but to aid and encourage the schools. The higher 
institutions are expected to gain knowledge concerning the 
schools and to render assistance through visitation. The efficient 
high school visitor is a mediator and advisor and not a dictator. 

Some of the duties that a high school visitor may be called 
upon to perform are as follows: (i) visitation of classes; (2) 
the making of addresses to high school pupils, to teachers, and 
to the public; (3) meetings and consultations with school boards 
and prominent citizens in the interest of schools ; (4) consulta- 
tions with teachers, principals and superintendents with reference 
to courses of study, methods of teaching, and school organization. 
Who will say that one who performs these services for the 
schools will not be able to bear to the higher institutions more 
valuable information concerning the actual conditions of the 
schools than could possibly be conveyed in the most voluminous 
report made by the schools? 

3. Examination of High School Pupils 

When President Frieze, of the University of Michigan, first 
proposed the idea of certification it was intended that members 
of the faculty should go out to the high schools and hold formal 
examinations.^^ 

In 1886, when the Faculty of the University of Minnesota 
voted to admit students on certificate, the President objected on 
the ground that such action " would disparage the entrance ex- 
aminations of the university."^^ 

There is little doubt that the attitude manifested at that time 
and continued thereafter had much to do with developing the 
rhost comprehensive examination system found in any state in 
the Union possibly with the single exception of New York. The 
Senior High School Inspector of Minnesota estimated that one 
hundred thousand papers were written by pupils of the Minne- 
sota schools and graded under the auspices of the High School 
Board in 191 1. Ninety teachers of the state were employed 

'^Ann. Rept. Bd. Reg., 1870; Cat. i86g-'7o, pp. 62, 63. 

^* Faculty Minutes, University of Minnesota, Feb. 13, 1886. 



Present Day Conditions in United States 121 

about twelve days in doing the work. He furthermore stated 
that there are few high school graduates in Minnesota who do 
not hold one or more certificates issued upon High School Board 
examinations. And yet these examinations are entirely optional. 
So popular did these examinations become that in 1909 a law 
was passed by the Legislature extending the privilege of the 
High School Board examinations to private schools and acade- 
mies. The certificating system in Minnesota is greatly supported 
by these examinations although they are not required for high 
school graduation or for admission to the university. 

In North Dakota, the high schools are divided into four 
classes. The University accepts students on certificates only 
from schools of the first class. " The State High School Ex- 
amining Board," states the Registrar, " of which the President 
of the University is Examiner, issues questions in all high 
school subjects. These examinations must be taken by all high 
schools other than the first class and may be taken by first class 
high schools. First class high schools are required to take at 
least one of these examinations each year." Thus it may be 
seen that certification in North Dakota is partially based upon 
formal examinations held in the schools. 

For years the University of Texas has required that examina- 
tion papers, prepared in the schools, be submitted as one of the 
important factors in determining the original affiliation of a 
high school. The questions are prepared by the high school 
teachers, the papers are graded by the ones setting the examina- 
tions and are then sent to the university for revision. The 
papers are usually required only when the school is first put 
on the list, but frequently when schools lose in standards of effi- 
ciency they are requested to submit examination papers or lose 
affiliation. 

Thus schools may be tested by direct examinations as in 
North Dakota, by supporting examinations as in Minnesota, or 
by indirect examinations as in Texas. 

4. Records of Students in College 

The extremes of the use of college records in testing schools 
are illustrated by the practices of the New England College 
Entrance Certificate Board and the University of Oregon. In 



122 Admission to College by Certificate 

New England before a school is permitted to certificate stu- 
dents regularly to the colleges having representatives on the 
board it must have sent a required number of satisfactory stu- 
dents to one or more of the colleges concerned. When a school 
already accredited sends unprepared students to college it loses 
the privilege of certification. The University of Oregon will ad- 
mit students on certificate, conditionally, from any high school 
in the state providing the principal will certify that the high 
school course of study prescribed by the state has been com- 
pleted. In the case of the Certificate Board, college records are 
made the entire basis for the recognition of any school; the 
University of Oregon recognizes the schools and then tests their 
efficiency by the work of students in college. Between these two 
extremes of methods used in testing schools and extending cer- 
tificate privileges, all shades of practices may be found. Very 
few colleges do not apply this test in some form to their ac- 
credited schools. 

Different institutions have worked out special methods for 
rating affiliated schools. The plan used by the University of 
California may be cited as an example. The California plan is 
as follows: 

" Let us now suppose that a given secondary school, the X High School, 
contributes to the freshman class in a given year two or more of its 
graduates, and that during the first half of the freshman year these stu- 
dents undertake, say, 53 units of university work distributed among the 
five grades of scholarship as follows : 

(Grades of Scholarship I II III IV V 
School X (Units of work 5 21 20 5 2 = 53 

"We desire to know the general average for the high school, that is, 
the efficiency of the school in terms of scholarship grades in the uni- 
versity. To find this general average, multiply the number of units of 
work in each grade of scholarship, as above, by the numeral representing 
that grade; add the products so obtained; divide this total by 53, the 
number of units of work taken, to obtain the average grade per unit of 
work." ^' 

When the indicated multiplications and divisions are made 
an average of 2.58 is obtained. This number is designated the 
" index figure " of " School X." The schools of California are 
ranked in the report cited on the basis indicated for nine years. 



^'Biennial Rept. of the President of the University, January, 191 1, p. 151. 



Present Day Conditions in United States 123 

Further attention will be given to the report in the chapter on 
evaluations. 

The ways in which freshman college records are communi- 
cated to schools vary with institutions. The University of Texas 
communicates them to principals and teachers through the rep- 
resentative of the university visiting the school. At the close of 
the first term the records of all freshmen are copied on indi- 
vidual cards. These cards are taken to the schools by the 
visitors and a consultation is held with the superintendent, prin- 
cipal, and teachers with regard to them. The Faculty of the 
University of Minnesota, as cited under " 1908," Chapter III, 
voted to send a printed list of delinquent students at the end of 
each semester to each instructor in the university and to the 
State Inspector of High Schools. It was also voted to send to 
all city superintendents and heads of accrediting schools, " a 
list of accredited schools where students (in their first year) 
have been dropped, with the number of such delinquents for 
each school." 

That good and bad records of students in colleges have tre- 
mendous influences upon high schools will be doubted by no one 
who has ever served as visitor or inspector of schools. Indeed, 
the same records which agitate the preparatory schools may be 
used to advantage in checking up the work of college instruc- 
tors. Efficient high schools often take the measure of college 
teachers while the college teachers are estimating the work of 
the high schools. 

Form, Content, and Acceptance of Certificates 

The forms of certificates, as shown by a collection made 
from many institutions in the United States, differ in size from 
a card, six inches long and four inches wide, used by the Ken- 
tucky Association of Colleges, to a four-page folder prescribed 
by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary 
Schools and adopted by different universities in the Middle 
West, Universities outside the territory named also use com- 
prehensive certificates. 

The amounts of information required by different institu- 
tions vary as much as the size of certificates. The Kentucky 
card merely states that the applicant is a graduate of a certain 



124 Admission to College by Certificate 

school and that he has satisfactorily completed a stated number 
of units in given subjects. The certificate of the University of 
Missouri covers subjects studied, years of high school in which 
subjects were taken, text-books used, ground covered, numbers 
of weeks given to subjects, numbers of recitations per week, 
length of recitation periods, laboratory periods and their length, 
and other remarks. Ohio State University requires that num- 
bers of pages in texts covered be given and that books read in 
English and numbers of exercises performed in science be desig- 
nated. The requirement of details must be interpreted as a dis- 
position to ascertain the exact work done by applicants. When 
a complete statement is made the college may or may not reduce 
the number of units with which the applicant is accredited. 

In the practical administration of the requirement and pre- 
sentation of comprehensive certificates, friction may arise. The 
college may exaggerate technical shortcomings and the schools 
may resist the requirements of detailed statements. Usually 
the latter occurs when the work has not been done in good faith, 
when the school has been derelict in keeping accurate records 
or when there is an indisposition to do the work necessary 
to get up the reports. Schools sometimes insinuate that the col- 
leges do not trust them, and take offense. This brings up one 
of the most fundamental questions underlying any system of 
admission to college by certificate: Who shall be held respon- 
sible for the certificate of any student? 

The question raised is answered in three ways. Some col- 
leges, as members of the New England Association, hold the 
schools absolutely responsible for their graduates. A pupil may 
do a passable grade of work under pressure in the preparatory 
school but when he enters college he may make a poor show- 
ing for his school, and this in spite of the fact that he has ability. 
Here the school would seem to be held responsible not only for 
the past but for the future of its pupils, although they may 
pass into an environment over which the schools have no con- 
trol. Another answer is given by that class of colleges which 
would dominate every detail of high school work. They look 
upon the schools as being incompetent and assume all responsi- 
bility in the transfer of pupils. They inspect with unsympa- 
thetic eyes and accept recommendations from high school in-. 



Present Day Condition^ in United States 125 

structors as matters of form. A third class of institutions look 
upon high schools as parts of an educational system with which 
they should cooperate; they regard high school instructors as 
co-laborers and worthy of assistance and confidence. They are 
willing to divide responsibility. This type of institution may re- 
quest comprehensive certificates; the cooperative schools will usu- 
ally be willing to present them. Such a course means that the 
transfer of pupils from the high school to the college is made in 
good faith. Honest men count their change not to entrap a fel- 
low laborer but to avoid mistakes. Colleges and high schools 
should have nothing to fear from a complete exchange of knowl- 
edge concerning an individual for whose training they are 
jointly responsible. 

A further question should be raised in this connection. Should 
any individual who may properly be graduated from an ac- 
credited high school be certificated into college, or should only 
those attaining a certain standing be admitted on recommenda- 
tion of the principal ? In North Dakota only those who graduate 
from "First Class" high schools are admitted on certificate; 
others must pass examinations in order to gain admission. 
Minnesota provides that graduates of schools under the super- 
vision of the High School Board may be admitted without ex- 
amination provided they secure the rank of " passed with 
credit " or " passed with honor." In North Dakota a pupil 
graduating from a " First Class " school and just passing might 
be ■ certificated ; in Minnesota only those obtaining a required 
rank would be admitted without examination. 

Who shall assume responsibility for the doubtful applicant? 
The suggestion of mutual cooperation again comes to the front 
as a solution. Either a complete report may be made by the 
schools, with or without recommendations, and the colleges 
share responsibility in the final decision or resort must be made 
to entrance examinations for those who do not obtain a required 
grade in the high schools if justice be done to all. 



126 



Admission to College by Certificate 



TABLE XIV 1 

Requirements for Admission to B.A. and B.S. Courses of 

Thirty-nine State Universities in 191 i 









Total 


Units of 


Units of 


Units of 




Total 


Units of 


Units 


Foreign L. 


Science 


Vocational 


States 


Units 
Required 


Conditions 
Allowed 


Prescribed 


Prescribed 


Prescribed 


Subjects 
Allowed 
















B.A. B.S. 


B.A. B.S. 


B.A. B.S. 




I. Alabama 




2 


lo-^ 10^ 


3 2 


I 2 


34 


2. Arkansas 




3 


loi 8 


3 


i4 


24 


3. Arizona 




P.2 


II* 10 






? 


4. California 




?3 


10 




I 


3 


5. Colorado 




2 


13 




2 


3 


6. Florida 




2 


II 8 


3 





I 


7. Georgia 




^. 


12^ 7i 


S 





3 


8. Idaho 




12^ ii4 




I 




9. Indiana 




? 


II 




I 


? 


10. Illinois 




? 


9i 7i 


3 2 





? 


11. Iowa 




I* 


8i 







i 


12. Kansas 




2* 


iii 




2 


I 


13. Kentucky 






11^- 94 


4 2 


I I 


f* 


14. Louisiana 




^ 


7: 























li 


6 


i4 





4 


17. Missouri 






7 







4 


18. Mississippi 




2 


12^ ? 


4 ? 





I 


19. Michigan 




l4 


9 




I 





20. Montana 




2 


10 




I 


? 


21. Nevada 




? 


8 8 




1 


4 


22. Nebraska 




f>. 


»i 







? 


23. New Mexico. . . . 




13 




2 


2 


24. North Carolina.. 




2 


13/5 


S/o 







25. North Dakota. . 




? 


9 




I 


S 


26. Ohio 




2 


II 




I 




27. Oklahoma 




? 


94 




I 


2 


28. Oregon 




2 


94 




I 








? 


? 








30. South Dakota... 




P. 


5 









31. Tennessee 




2 











32. Texas 






loi 









33. Utah 


144 


P. 


6 
134 124 


7 6 








34. Vermont 




35. Virginia 




2 


II 









36. Washington. . . . 




2 


124 io4 


4 2 


I 2 




37. West Virginia.. . 




P. 


9 




I 




38. Wisconsin 




? 


6 









39. Wyoming 




P. 


8 










1 Compiled from Catalogues for 1910-1911. 

2 The letter "P" in column two is used for " Preparatory Department." 

3 Interrogation points mean that the definite amounts required and allowed are not 
stated in Catalogues. 

Observations Based on Table XIV 
Table XIV has been compiled for the purpose of making a 
study of (a) the entrance requirements of those institutions 
having most to do with certification, (b) their fidelity to their 
own announced standards, and (c) their disposition to adjust 
their admission requirements to high school conditions, as shown 
by prescriptions in foreign language and science requirements 
and in allowances for vocational subjects. 

In arranging the table, six groups of high school subjects 
were held in mind. These groups were: (i) English, (2) His- 



Present Day Conditions in United States 127 

tory, (3) Mathematics, (4) Foreign Languages, (5) Sciences, 
and (6) Vocational subjects. The first three of these groups 
are taught in some form in all high schools and are required in 
some amount for admission by practically all colleges. The 
problems which have arisen in connection with certification in 
English, history, and mathematics have usually pertained to 
methods and materials rather than fixed requirements. The 
foreign languages, sciences, and vocational subjects have ap- 
peared in the high schools in about the order named. The 
last three groups of subjects have largely furnished the de- 
batable grounds in connection with certification. The schools 
have claimed that the colleges were too much inclined to require 
foreign languages and not disposed to accept the sciences and 
newer subjects, and that the colleges have been slow in adjust- 
ing their admission requirements to changing needs and con- 
ditions. The colleges have replied that the languages could be 
taught more efficiently with less expense to the schools than the 
other two groups of subjects, that they furnished better pre- 
paration for college work, and, finally, that the new subjects 
are so poorly organized and imperfectly taught that they are 
not yet worthy of recognition. Whatever may have been the 
arguments, the facts are that more or less friction has arisen 
from time to time between the secondary schools and the higher 
institutions over the recognition of the foreign languages, the 
sciences and the vocational subjects. These statements will, in 
a measure, explain why the treatment of the last three groups 
of subjects has been provided for in the table. 

Column one is largely self-explanatory and shows that thirty- 
six of the thirty-nine state universities have fixed their stan- 
dards of admission from fourteen to sixteen units. The three 
institutions having lower requirements announce that they ex- 
pect to increase their standards of admission as fast as the con- 
ditions of the high schools will permit. One question seems to 
be settled here, and that is, that admission by state universities 
will henceforth be based upon the average amount of work that 
can be done by a pupil in a good high school in four years. 

From the standpoint of a realization of the standards an- 
nounced, the facts given in the second vertical column of the 
table are not so gratifying. Three classes of institutions are 



128 Admission to College by Certificate 

represented: those still maintaining preparatory departments, 
those which do not definitely announce the numbers of " con- 
ditions " allowed, and those stating the maximum numbers of 
units in which students may be conditioned. The universities 
having preparatory departments are largely found in the newer 
states where the high schools are less developed. As shown in 
Chapter III, the universities of the Middle West made little real 
progress in adjusting themselves in their state systems until 
they threw the preparatory work upon the high schools and 
began to assist in their development. The second group of in- 
stitutions, those not stating definitely the numbers of " condi- 
tions " allowed, may be one step ahead of the first group. Until 
institutions are willing to announce their exact numbers of 
" conditions " they are in danger of making little progress in 
advancing their own standards and the standards of the schools 
below them. Those institutions stating the exact numbers of 
" conditions " allowed may reach their announced requirements 
by fidelity in administration and by a steady movement for- 
ward. 

The statement must be made in the light of the facts given 
in column two, and some supplementary facts here submitted, 
that, with one or two doubtful exceptions which have had com- 
paratively little to do with developing the certificating system, 
not a single state university was meeting its own announced 
standards in 191 1. Seven institutions supported preparatory de- 
partments, twenty-one announced one or more " conditions," 
leaving eleven not definitely accounted for in the table. In these 
eleven, " conditions " were treated as follows : in California, 
the number of " conditions " was decided in each case by the 
academic senate ; in Indiana, students were admitted with " con- 
ditions " but the numbers were not given ; in Maine and Ver- 
mont, " conditions " were not stated in catalogues ; in Illinois, 
a preparatory department was maintained until 191 1; in Mis- 
souri, students were " admitted conditionally at the discretion 
of the Dean of the University Faculty " ; in Nevada, " condi- 
tions " were determined by the Committee on Admission ; in 
North Dakota, a " Model High School " was attached ; in Okla- 
homa, students were admitted on three years of high school 



Present Day Conditions in United States 129 

work; in South Carolina, only eleven units were announced for 
admission in 191 1 and no statement was made concerning " con- 
ditions " ; in Wisconsin, one " optional unit " was allowed. By 
"optional unit" is- here meant any work taken in high schools. 

The conclusion may be repeated that, so far, state universities 
are not yet meeting the standards to which they aspire. This 
may argue that the effort to keep admission requirements within 
reach of the high schools is general among the higher state 
institutions. 

The prescribed requirements vary widely with the different 
colleges. The requirements for admission to the courses leading 
to the degrees of " Bachelor of Arts " and " Bachelor of Sci- 
ence " have been selected for use in the table for the reason that 
it is believed that these have had most to do in the establish- 
ment of entrance requirements and also have most influenced 
high school courses in the past. In some institutions no " Bache- 
lor of Science " degree is awarded, hence the absence of data 
in several cases. The small numbers of prescribed subjects 
made by such institutions as Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Mis- 
souri, Michigan and Wisconsin might be interpreted as pointing 
to a desire to establish a close interrelation between the schools 
and the higher institutions in those states. 

The facts submitted concerning prescribed requirements in 
foreign languages and sciences and the maximum numbers of 
units allowed for vocational subjects are largely self-explana- 
tory. Attention should be called to the fact that in some in- 
stances the prescribed requirements are nullified by " condi- 
tions " allowed. 

The facts in Table XIV seem to justify the following con- 
clusions : 

1. State universities have settled down to a four-year high 
school basis as a proper standard for the establishment of col- 
lege admission requirements. 

2. No state university striving to cooperate fully with the 
high schools of its own state has so far been able to enforce in 
full its own announced requirements. The status of the develop- 
ment of the high schools in the different states is reflected in 



130 Admission to College by Certificate 

the entrance requirements of universities not supporting pre- 
paratory departments. 

3. While most of the state universities announce some pre- 
scribed requirements in foreign languages, " conditions " al- 
lowed have postponed the full enforcement of the requirements. 
The results of the enforcement of foreign language require- 
ments upon the schools are yet to be determined. 

4. The table shows that state universities are rendering as- 
sistance in the development of the sciences and vocational sub- 
jects. Sixteen institutions make a specific science requirement 
for admission to bachelor-of-arts courses. All but three of the 
thirty-nine institutions accept one or more units of vocational 
work for admission to one or more courses. 



Observations Based on Table XV 
Table XV needs little explanation. It was compiled to show 
the relation of the state universities to the high schools as mani- 
fested in the amounts of different high school subjects accepted 
for admission. 

In the previous table the maximum numbers of units accepted 
in vocational subjects were shown. Table XV presents, along 
with others, the credits assigned to the different vocational sub- 
jects. It will be seen that some of the institutions give a wide 
range of options but limit the total numbers of credits that may 
be offered. This same condition does not prevail in the cases 
of the foreign languages and sciences. No restriction is placed 
upon the numbers of units that may be offered from those ac- 
credited. This discrimination against the new group of sub- 
jects suggests lack of confidence in their power to train for col- 



Present Day Conditions in United States 131 

lege or a lack of efficiency in their organization and teaching. 
However, the fact that they are being credited by thirty-six state 
universities, and to the extent shown in Table XV, should be 
pleasing to the supporters of these subjects. 

To those who may be interested in the exact status of any 
particular subject, or in a comparison of the practices of dif- 
ferent institutions. Table XV should be of value. 



132 



Admission to College by Certificate 



TABLE 

Maximum of Credits in Different Subjects Allowed for 





States 


Subjects 


< 


< 


■a 

< 


d 


1 


A 


S 



2 


i 


s 


^' 


1 


M 


^ 


§ 


s 




I. Agriculture 

2 Algebra . . 


2 

{* 

i 

2 
i 

2 

1 

2 

1 

2 

3 
2 

I 


I 
2 

I 
I 

I 
3 
3 

3 

3 
4 

4 

I 
I 
I 
I 

l3 


I* 

I 
1 

4 
2 
I 

4 

I 
I 

i 


2 

I 
I 
I 

1 

I 
2 
2 
4 
3 
4 

1 
4 

i 

4 
2 

I 

I 

2 
^ 

4* 


I 
I* 

? 

I 
I 
4 
* 

2 
I 

1 

? 
2i5 


I 
2 

I 
I 

3 

I 
I 

I 

4 
3 

I 
I 
I 


16 


I* 

I 
I 

I 
i 

I 

2 
4 

2 

1 
2 

3i- 

4 
2 

I 
? 
? 

l2 


I 

I 
* 

3 

3 

I 

3 

k 

? 

I 
? 

? 

? 

5^ 


2 

i' 

I 
I 
I 
I 
* 
I 
I 

1 
4 

I 
i 

t 

3 
3 
4 
2 

I 
I 
I 
2 

I 


I 
* 
I 
i 

1 
3 

I 

3 

2 
2 
4 

I 
? 

? 


2 

I 
I 

1 

I 

4 

I 
3 

I 

1 

3 
4 
4 

I 
I 
I 

4 
18 


1 

I 
* 
3 

3 

I 
i 
3 

I 

li 
t 

I 
i 

I 

3 

I 


I 
li 

1 
I 
I 
I 

3 

3 

I 
i 
3 

2 

3 
3 
3 

I 
I 

3 

I 
i 
2IO 


2 

I 
I 

I 

3 

2 

I 

2 

5* 

4 

I 
I 
I 

i 

I 


4 

r 

I 
I 
I 

2 
I ■ 

i4 

t 
2 

I 

2 

1 

2 
3 
4 
3 

i 

2 
2 

I 




3. Astronomy 

4. Arithmetic 








7. Book-keepmg . . . . 

8. Chemistry 

9 Civics 




10. Com. Subjects. . . 

11. Drawing 

12. Domestic Ec. . . . 

13. English 


4 


14. Economics 


1 


16. Geometry, P 

17. Geometry, S 

18. German 


I 


19. Geography 

20. Geology 

21. Greek 


1 






23. Latin 


4 


24. Manual Tr 


2 


26. Physiography. . . 

27. Physiology 

28. Spanish 


I 
I 
3 


29. Sten. & Typwg. . 

30. Trigonometry.. . . 

31. Zoology 


2 


32. Miscellaneous. . . . 


iio 



1 Compiled from Catalogues for 1910-1911. 2 Mugic_ 3 Psychology and Pedagogy- 
< Music, Analytic Geometry. 5 Psychology and Science. 6 Italian. ''Any high school 



"Music. "Scandinavian. 



Present Day Conditions in United States 



^33 



Entrance by Thirty-nine State Universities in 191 i 



States 


5g 




i 


1 


1 


«' 
^ 
^ 




a 

•z 








J 




1 


1 


i 




^ 


4 


1 






f" 








I 








I 


2 


I 








I 


I 


2 


24 




J 




4 




li 


li 


li 


2 


i4 


i4 

1 


i4 


i4 


i4 

I 


14 

I 


2 

1 


2 




2 

1 


i4 


]* 


24 

I 


i4 


r 


14 


2 


14 


I 


I 




I 




I 


? 


I 


I 


I 


I 


? 


I 


I 


? 


I 


4 


I 




2 


I 








i 




2 










4 




I 




4 


I 






4 






2 


I 


I 




I 




1 


I 


I 


I 


I 


I 


I 


? 


I 


I 


I 


I 


I 






2 


I 


i 






i 




4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


? 


4 


4 


4 


I 


4 


4 




I 


4 
















3 




^ 












4 






4 




3 




i 


i 




I 




I 


I 


2 


2 


I 


I 


I 




I 


I 


I 
2 


4 


I 


2 




4 


2 


4 


4 




4 




4 


3 


1 


3 


I 


1 


4 


4 

I 


3 


4 


^? 


3 


4 


f 




4 
4 


4 

I 


3 


4 




2 




2 


3 


3 


4 


4 




2 


2 


3 


3 


2 


4 


2 


3 




4 


2 


I 


I 




I 




I 


I 


I 


1 


I 


I 


I 


I 


1 


I 


I 


I 


I 


I 






I 


i 


4 




i 






4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 




I 


4 


3 


4 








I 


3 


3 


4 


4 

4 


4 

4 


' 


4 


3 


3 


1 


4 


2 


4 
4 




t 

I 


4 


2 


2 




2 




2 


3 


3 


4 


3 


2 


2 


3 


3 


3 


3 


3 


2 


4 




2 


2 


4 


3 


34 


34 




? 


3 


3 


34 


4 


34 


34 


4 


4 


34 


24 


4 


34 


34 


24 


4 


34 


4 


4 




u 




4 


4-7 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 




4 


4 


i 










I 




2 


2 


I 


4 






2 


I 


2 


I 


I 


2 




4 


I 


1 


I 


I 






I 


I 


I 


I 


I 


I 


1 




I 


I 


I 


I 


I 


I 




I 


I 


4 


I 








I 


4 


I 


1 


I 




I 


? 


I 


4 


I 


I 


I 


I 






i 


i 










4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


? 


I 


4 




I 




I 




4 


2 










2 


2 


3 


4 


2 




2 




2 


3 


2 


2 


2 


2 




2 




i 


4 


t 


4 




4 


4 




4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


I 
4 


i 


1 


4 


4 




4 


3 










4 




? 






4 




? 


I 


I 


^ 




4 






2 


I 


/12 




613 




3'* 


2" 




615 










7I8 


310 




44" 










118 


1419 



l^Surveying and Mississippi History, i^industrial Subjects. l^Any approved high school 
subject. i^Music, Psychology, School Management, Scandinavian and Senior Reviews. 

lepsychology and 6 units in science not distributed. i^Music, Oral expression, Bible 
History, Education, Psychology, is" Optional subject." i^Psychology and Pedagogy. 



134 



Admission to College by Certificate 



TABLE XVII 

Subjects Credited for Admission by Thirty-nine State Uni- 
siTiES with Numbers of Institutions Accepting Each 



Subjects 
I. Agriculture. 



2. Algebra 

3. "Any High School 

Subject" 

4. Analytic Geom. . . . 

5. Advanced Arith. . . 

6. Astronomy 

7. Biology 



8. Bible History. 

9. Botany 

[o. Book-keeping. 



Institutions Numbers 

All except Ariz., la., Me., Miss., Mich., 
Mont., N. M., N. C, Ore., S. C, S. D., 
Va., Wy 26 



All. 



39 



11. Chemistry 

12. Civics. , 

13. Commercial Sub 

jects not speci 
fied elsewhere . . . . 



14. Drawing , 

15. Domestic Economy 



16. English . . . 

17. Economics . 



18. French 

19. Geometry, P. . . . 

20. Geometry, S. . . . 

21. German 

22. Geography, Com 

23. Geology 



24. Greek 

25. History 

26. Latin , 

27. Manual Training . 

28. Music 



29. Pedagogy . . . . 

30. Physics 

31. Physiography. 

32. Physiology. . . 

33. Psychology. . . 

34. Scandinavian. 



Ind. (5 units). Neb., N. M., V/is. (i unit) 4 

Cal I 

Ala., la., Minn., Mo., N. M., Ore., Wash. 7 

Ala., 111., Minn., Ore., Wash 5 

Ala., Cal., Idaho, Me., Mo., Mich., Mont., 

N. M., N. D., O., Ok., Tenn., Vt., Va. 14 

Utah I 

AU 39 

Cal., 111., la., Kan., Ken., La., Minn., 
Mo., Nev., N. M., Ore., S. D., Tex., 

Utah, Wash., Wy 16 

All 39 

All except Colo., Fla., Mich 36 



N. D., Ok., Utah, Wash., Wis., Cal., 

Idaho, 111., Kan., Minn., Mont 11 

All except Ariz., Fla., Idaho, Ind., la., 

La., Me., Neb., S. D., Wis., Wy 28 

Cal., Colo., Idaho, 111., Kan., Ky., Minn., 

Mo., N. D., O., Ok., Tenn., Tex., Utah, 

Wash., Wis., Wy 17 

All 39 

Cal., Colo., 111., la., Kan., Minn., Mo., 

N. D., Ok., Ore., S. D., Utah., Wash., 

Wis., Wy IS 

All 39 

All 39 

All except Ark., Fla., Ga., la., N. M. . . 34 

All 39 

Ala., Cal., Colo., 111., Kan., La., Minn., 

Mo., N. M., Ok., Utah, Wash., Wis.. . 13 
Ala., Ind., 111., Ky., Minn., Ore., Utah, 

Wash. , Wis 9 

All except Fla., Mont 37 

All 39 

All 39 

All except Ariz., Fla., la., Mich., Mont., 

N. C, S. C, S. D., W. Va 30 

Ala., Cal., Idaho, La., Mo., N. D., Tenn., 

Utah 8 

Ark., Kan., Ky., N. D., Utah, Wy 6 

All 39 

All except Mont 38 

All except Ariz., Fla., Mich., Mont., Va. 34 

Ark., Colo., Kan., N. D., S. D., Utah, Wy. 7 

Minn., N. D 2 



Compiled from Table XV. 



35- Spanish 



36. State History 

37. Sten. & Type 

38. Surveying. . . 

39. Trigonometry 



Present Day Conditions in United States 135 

TABLE XYI— Continued 
Subjects Institutions Numbers 

All except Ark., Idaho, Ind., la., Kan., 
Me., Mich., Mont., Neb., Ore., S. D., 

W. Va., Wy 26 

Miss I 

Cal., La., Minn., N. M., Tex., Vt., Wy. 7 

Ky., Miss 2 

All except Ala., Ark., Colo., Fla., Ga., 
Idaho, Ind., 111., la., Minn., Neb., 

N. D., Wy 26 

40. Zoology All except Ariz., S. C 37 

Observations Based on Table XVI 

A recapitulation of Table XV has been made in Table XVI 
for the purpose of presenting in brief form the spread of subjects 
recognized in the different states. 

Algebra, Botany, Chemistry, English, French, Plane Geometry, 
German, History, Latin, and Physics are accepted by all of the 
institutions. Distributed according to the groups previously 
named, two branches fall under mathematics, three under 
foreign languages, and three under science, with English and 
History groups fully represented. The only group not having 
a unanimous choice of one or more of its subjects is that of voca- 
tional subjects. In that group Manual Training is accredited 
to some extent by thirty institutions, while Domestic Economy is 
accepted by seventeen. Agriculture ranks next to Manual 
Training and Drawing. Commercial subjects are accepted by 
about one-third of the institutions. 

From Table XVI the conclusion may be drawn that so far as 
five of the six groups of subjects are concerned they are being 
encouraged by the colleges and that representatives of the sixth 
group are growing in favor. 

Legal Enactment and Certification 
One of the most important problems connected with the entire 
system of admission to college by certificate has arisen in con- 
nection with legislative enactments. So long as the higher insti- 
tutions maintained preparatory departments and did not attempt 
to enforce strict entrance requirements, laws compelling them to 
accept graduates of high schools meeting certain minimum 
standards of efficiency would naturally create little concern. But 
as the universities come to insist upon a higher grade of prepara- 
tion for college work, legal enactments seem tO' bar the way to 



136 Admission to College by Certificate 

advancement. At no other time in the entire history of certifi- 
cation has this question been as crucial as it is at present. 

No attempt will be made to describe the various conditions pre- 
vailing in all of the states. In some of the states, especially in the 
Middle West where free public high schools are best developed, 
a more or less unsettled condition prevails, due to enactments 
attempted, passed or contemplated. In some cases decisions of 
attorneys-general have been invoked, in others the state universi- 
ties are attempting to forestall complete loss of control of their 
entrance requirements by suggesting the creation of state high 
school boards, to be composed largely or wholly of representa- 
tives of the higher educational institutions, and in still other 
states the colleges are trusting for protection to charters and 
state constitutions. 

The laws, which the highest institutions believe to be detri- 
mental to the improvement of entrance requirements, may be 
classified under three heads : ( i ) those which place the entire 
control of admission requirements in the hands of state depart- 
ments of education; (2) those which bind the stronger and the 
weaker institutions together and thus permit the weaker colleges 
to impede the progress of the stronger ones; and (3) those 
laws which have for their purpose the entire removal of the 
right of school visitation from state universities. 

As illustrations of these types, the laws of South Dakota, 
Florida, Missouri, and Ohio may be cited. 

1. " He (State Superintendent) personally or by an assistant 
shall inspect all high schools and shall have the power to accredit 
them to higher institutions of learning." ^'^ 

Another illustration of this same type is found in Missouri. 

" The state superintendent of public schools shall have 
authority to classify the public high schools in the state into 
first, second and third classes, and shall prescribe minimum 
courses of study for each class. . . . All work completed in an 
accredited high school shall be given full credit in requirements 
for entrance to and classification in any educational institution 
supported in whole or in part by state appropriations." ^^ 

2. " Immediately after the passage and approval of this act, 
the State Superintendent of Public Instruction shall appoint a 



'"The School Law of South Dakota (1909), Article I, Section 3. 
"Revised School Laws of the State of Missouri (1909), Article VII, 
Section 10,923. 



Present Day Conditions in United States 137 

committee of not less than six nor more than ten of the most 
capable persons, of whom not less than one-third shall be presi- 
dents or principals of state institutions for higher education, and 
not less than one-third shall be principals of high or graded 
schools, and these, together with himself, at the earliest prac- 
ticable date, shall prepare a standard course of study for high 
school grades. Said course of study shall prescribe minimum 
requirements, and shall be arranged, as far as practicable, to 
secure equality of mental power and training among those com- 
pleting its instruction, and to insure suitable preparation for 
entrance into the lowest college classes of the state institutions 
for higher education. . . . " ^^ 

3. As previously stated in the last chapter a determined effort 
was made by the State Department of Education of Wisconsin, 
in 191 1, to have a law enacted by the Legislature forbidding the 
state university to inspect high schools. 

A similar contest has been precipitated in Ohio. 

The following quotations are taken from a law passed by the 
Ohio State Legislature March 12, 1909: 

" The standing or grade of all public high schools in the state 
shall be determined by the state commissioner of common 
schools and his findings in reference to the standing or grade 
of such high schools shall be final." ^^ 

" To aid in the recognition and classification of high schools, 
established or seeking recognition in accordance with the pro- 
visions of this act, the state commissioner of common schools 
shall appoint two competent inspectors. . . . provided, however, 
that the inspection herein authorized shall not be a substitute for, 
or take the place of, the inspection made by the Ohio State 
University." ^* 

The statute quoted was revised, April 11, 191 1, and the clause 
insuring the right of inspection to the university was omitted. 

The effect of the three types of laws quoted will be discussed 
in the next chapter. 

Chapter Summary 

It has been the purpose in this chapter to set forth actual con- 
ditions and practices rather than to discuss the advantages and 
weaknesses of the systems described. 

'^Digest of the School Laws of the State of Florida (1909), p. 38. 
^' General Statutes, Section 4029-4. 
^ General Statutes, Section 4029-4a. 



138 Admission to College by Certificate 

A general survey of the field reveals the existence of certain 
type systems used in administering the plan of admission to 
college by certificate. Each of these types possesses certain dis- 
tinctive features but all may be examined from the standpoints 
of the locations of control and inspection. 

The types of control and inspection described are illustrated: 
(i) in the New England College Entrance Certificate Board; 
(2) in the State Board of Education of Indiana; (3) in the High 
School Board of Minnesota ; (4) in the Association of Alabama 
Colleges; (5) in the State Universities of Texas and Missouri; 
(6) in the State Departments of Education of New York, South 
Dakota and Florida; (7) in the joint control of the University 
and the State Department of West Virginia; (8) in the special 
plans of Vanderbilt, Harvard, Columbia and Chicago Universi- 
ties ; (9) in the district control of the Commission on Accredited 
Schools and Colleges of the North Central States; and (10) in 
a system of reciprocity established between state universities. 
The distinctive features of these types are summarized in ea.ch 
case after the different systems are explained. 

The different methods used in testing schools are treated under 
four heads: (i) reports, (2) inspection, (3) formal examin- 
ation of high school pupils, and (4) records of students in 
college. 

Tables XIV, XV, and XVI lead to the conclusions that the 
colleges have settled upon a four-year high school course as 
the proper basis for determining the standard for admission ; that 
none of the state universities are yet meeting their own an- 
nounced standards; and that five of the six groups of subjects 
taught in high schools are recognized generally for admission, 
and that the sixth group, or that of vocational subjects, is coming 
into favor. 

Three types of legal enactments are becoming grave factors in 
the general problem of certification. All of these types are detri- 
mental to the fundamental principles of certification in that they 
tend to take from the higher institutions the control of their own 
entrance requirements and also deprive the schools and colleges 
of the opportunity of free cooperation in adjusting the con- 
nection between the two parts of the educational system. 



CHAPTER V 

EVALUATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 

So far, in this study, an effort has been made to present an 
outline of the origins, developments, and present conditions of 
the various systems of college certification used in the United 
States. The task remains to analyze the advantages and weak- 
nesses of the systems indicated with a view to rendering some 
aid in strengthening prevailing methods. 

Admission to college by certificate, in forty years, has largely 
supplanted admission by examination. What has caused this 
change of plans? To answer the question, a comparison must 
be made of the rival systems of certification and examination. 

The most fundamental difference between admission by ex- 
amination and admission by certificate seems to exist in the fact 
that in the former plan the fitness of the applicant is tested by a 
few questions set by persons who know little or nothing of the 
candidates personality or training, while in the latter case those 
who have taught the prospective student, one or more years, 
are called upon to pass judgment on his ability to do college 
work. Which is the more reliable method? Certain statistics 
will be presented as a basis for the conclusions which follow. 

The figures submitted in Table XVII show that students 
admitted on certificate to the colleges working under the New 
England College Entrance Certificate Board for four years made 
three per cent fewer failures in their first term of college work 
than did the students admitted on examination. The difference 
in favor of the certificated students for 1909-1910 was two and 
three-tenths per cent. On account of a change in the form of 
the report on Mathematics the figures do not fit into the table 
and are omitted solely for that reason. 

It must be concluded from these figures that the judgment of 
those who prepare students for New England colleges is a more 
trustworthy guide in the actual selection of students than the 

139 



140 



Admission to College by Certificate 



TABLE XVII 

Data Concerning the Failures of Students Admitted to New 

England Colleges by Examination and Certificate for 

the Scholastic Years, 1906^ 1907^, 1908^, and 1909* 





Eng. 


Lat. 


Gk. 


Fr. 


Ger. 


Math. 


Totals 




319 
961 
28 
71 
8.8 
7-4 

333 
1021 
27 
86 
8.1 
8.4 

314 

1047 

1? 
?:i 

393 
1161 

I, 

7-3 


246 

794 
7 
29 
2.8 
3-7 

ZS4 

807 

16 

32 

6.3 

4- 

238 
870 

13 

32 

5.5 
3.7 

259 

960 

II 

33 

4.2 

3.4 


74 
324 

i 

4- I 
2.5 

66 

274 

6 

8 

9.1 
2.9 

S6 

242 

3 

7 

5.3 
2.9 

43 

27s 

I 

4 

2.3 
I.S 


218 

651 

II 

41 

5- 

6.3 

245 

757 

17 

44 

7- 

5.8 

201 
829 

55 

10.4 
6.6 

326 
846 

34 

39 

10.4 
4.6 


125 
417 
II 
18 
8.8 
4-3 

146 
478 
12 
14 
8.2 
2.9 

139 

521 

14 
41 
10. 1 
7-9 

174 

621 
6 
39 
3-4 
6.3 


318 
927 

4f 
98 

IS. I 

10.6 

388 

940 
61 

127 
15.7 
13-5 

347 

lOII 

77 
138 
22.2 
13.6 

436 

1104 

84 

136 

19-3 

12.3 


1300 

4074 

108 

265 

8.3 

6.5 

1432 

4277 

139 

311 

9.7 

7.2 

1295 

4520 

157 

355 

12. 1 

7.8 

1631 

4967 

171 

336 

10.4 

6.7 




No. Ex. Students failed ist term 

No. Cert. Students failed ist term. . . 
Per cent Ex. Students failed ist term. 
Per cent Cert. Students failed ist term 


Admitted on Cert, 1906—07 


No. Ex. Students failed ist term 

No. Cert. Students failed ist term.. . . 
Per cent Ex. Students failed ist term. 
Per cent Cert. Students failed ist term 




No. Ex. Students failed ist term 

No. Cert. Students failed ist term 

Per cent Ex. Students failed ist term. 
Per cent Cert. Students failed ist term 

Admitted on Ex , 1908—09 .... 




No. Ex. Students failed ist term 

No. Cert. Students failed ist term. . . 
Per cent Ex. Students failed ist term. 
Per cent Cert. Students failed ist term 



Average per cent of failures by Ex. students in 4 years . . 
Average per cent of failures by Cert, students in 4 years . 
Per cent of advantage in favor of Cert, students 



1 Fourth An. R. New England College Entrance Certificate Bd., p. 9. 

2 Fifth An. R. New England College Entrance Certificate Bd., p. 8. 

3 Sixth An. R. New England College Entrance Certificate Bd., p. 9. 

4 Seventh An. R'. New England College Entrance Certificate Bd., p. 9. 

entrance examinations passed by those who are not admitted 
by certificate. 

The conclusion drawn may be qualified by the statement that 
the New England plan is a restricted type of the certificating 
system, and that the certificating teachers are often in fear of 
losing the privilege should they be careless or make mistakes. 
This feature will be considered in another connection, but the 
fact remains that the judgment of the teachers, thus safe- 
guarded, is more reliable than examinations as both are applied 
by New England colleges. 

The question will be further studied with the use of Table 
XVIII which follows. 

Before suggesting the conclusions which may be drawn from 
Table XVIII, it will be advantageous to relate certain facts 
bearing upon the statistics submitted.' 



Evaluations and Conclusions 



141 



TABLE XVIII» 

Numbers of Students and Percentages of Work Done in Five 

Grades of Scholarship by Freshmen, in the University of 

California, Coming from the State High Schools 



Years 


Nos. 

of 

Students 


Five Grades of Scholarship 


I 


II 


III 


IV 


V 


1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 

1905 
1906 
1907 
1908 
1909 


383 
458 
401 
455 
391 
431 
428 
472 
546 


8.85 
9.87 
9.26 
12 .20 
13.60 
11-75 
14.30 
13.98 
14.87 


45.20 
40 .10 

39-25 
40.38 
36.86 
40.07 
38.96 

37-09 
40.88 


30.12 
33-80 
38.75 
35-47 
38.69 
35-06 
30.80 
36.00 
33-34 


13-17 
14.10 
10.80 
10.45 

9.72 
11.03 
13.48 
II .06 

9-44 


2.67 

2 .20 

1 .96 
1-65 
I-I3 

2 .09 

2.45 
1.87 

1-43 


Averages 


12 .08 


39.86 


34-67 


11.47 


I .94 



In 1884, the University of California began to accredit high 
schools and tO' admit students on certificate:^ For a little more 
than twenty years thereafter the schools were visited by members 
of the Faculty. The schools were accredited by subjects and not 
by schools. In June, 1903, a general examiner of schools was 
appointed, and about three years later special examinations by 
members of the Faculty were discontinued.'' 

The rapid increase in the number of schools needing visita- 
tion and the utter inability of one man to do the work led 
the Examiner of Schools, Professor W. Scott Thomas, to de- 
vise the California plan for testing the work of the schools. 
That plan is set forth in the last chapter of this study. While 
the schools are still visited by the Examiner their efficiency is 
more or less tested by the work of their graduates in the fresh- 
man class of the University of California. Thus California, 
while retaining the element of school visitation, has drifted 
somewhat to the system used by the New England College En- 
trance Certificate Board. 

Table XVIII contains data compiled by the California Ex- 
aminer of schools. These statistics would be far more valuable 



°The statistics in this table are taken from the Biennial Report of the 
President of the University of California for 1908-10, pp. 154-5. 

* See Report of Examiner of Schools : Biennial Report of the Presi- 
dent of the University of California, 1906-08, p. 118. 

''Ibid., p. iig. 



142 Admission to College by Certificate 

for our immediate purpose if similar ones accompanied them 
in regard to students admitted on examination. It seems not 
unlikely that only a comparatively small number of students 
enter the University of California on examination, and hence 
the absence of reference to them. 

The facts given are valuable. Grades of scholarship IV and 
V represent unsatisfactory work. Those classed in Grade V 
must repeat the courses. When the percentages of these two 
grades are added together, a total of 13.41 is obtained. It will 
thus be seen that 86.59 per cent of the work of the graduates 
of the California high schools who go to the University is at 
least passable. As stated, no comparison of those entering on 
examination is possible on account of lack of data. 

Although the conditions are widely different, it will be of 
interest to compare the facts submitted in Table XVIII with 
those contained in the table for New England Colleges. It 
was found that of those admitted on examination to the New 
England colleges, for four years, an average of 10. i per cent 
failed and 89.9 per cent passed; and of those entering by cer- 
tificate, for the same period, an average of 7.1 per cent failed 
and 92.9 per cent passed. Thus the California certificated stu- 
dents for nine years fall somewhat below the New England 
students for four years. Taking from Table XVIII the per- 
centages representing unsatisfactory work for the same period 
of time for which the New England reports are reckoned, the 
figures show that 11 per cent are found under the grades of 
work representing failure on examinations but permitting a 
second trial, while 1.96 per cent of the work was so poorly 
done as to require full repetition. Adding together these per- 
centages, a total of 12.96 per cent is obtained. It is not stated 
in the New England report whether or not failures in examina- 
tions always mean a repetition of work. This would be a con- 
siderable factor in the comparison about^to be made. Assum- 
ing that all failures in New England are final, the figures stand : 

New England Certificated students passed. .. .92.9 Per Cent; 

California students passed 87.04 Per Cent; 

New England Examination students passed . . . 89.9 Per Cent. 

The California students fall 5.86 per cent below the New Eng- 
land certificated students but only 2.86 per cent below the New 



Evaluations and Conclusions 143 

England examination students. It is believed that in this com- 
parison every advantage is given to the New England students. 
If California certificated students could be compared with ex- 
amination students of the same state, it is believed that the cer- 
tificated students would not sufifer in the comparison. 

Unfortunately, it has not been possible to obtain recent 
data for use in this particular discussion from any of those 
universities which have had most to do with the development 
of the purest type of the certificating system. The reason is 
that the system has almost eliminated admission by examina- 
tions in the Middle West. Examinations are set each year by 
the different universities but the number of students applying 
for them has become almost a negligible quantity. 

We do have, however, thanks to the University of Michigan, 
a most accurate and painstaking report upon the relative stand- 
ings of certificated and examined students in college, Although 
we must go back to 1880 for it. 

When the University of Michigan had been admitting stu- 
dents on certificate for five years, or in 1876, a committee of 
the Faculty was appointed to make a report on the comparative 
standings of certificated and examined students. A report was 
made showing that the certificated students were doing as well 
in college work as those admitted on examination. Again, in 
1880, a committee of the Faculty, composed of the professor of 
Latin, the professor of Mathematics, and a professor of Sci- 
ence, was appointed to make a full investigation of the stand- 
ings of students admitted by certificate and those admitted by 
examination for nine years, or from the date of the introduc- 
tion of the certificating system. 

The report of that committee may still be found in the 
archives of the University. Different references have been 
made to it and the conclusions have been stated in print, but the 
report itself has never been published. The full weight of the 
report has never been felt except by those who have examined 
it. The conclusions are based upon the most convincing sta- 
tistics. Thirty-two tables of figures are given based upon the 
complete college records of 1161 students, of whom 514 were 
admitted on certificate and 647 were admitted on examination. 

The conclusions of the committee deal with three considera- 



144 Admission to College by Certificate 

tions : (a) students making exceedingly bad records, (b) those 
dropping out without making any records, and (c) a percentage 
comparison of the records of certificated and examined students 
remaining in college. 

TABLE XIXi 

Percentage Comparison of the Records of Certificated 
AND Examined Students 

Percentage 

Certificated students making bad records 10.15 

Examined students making bad records 9.51 

Advantage of examined students .64 

Certificated students making no record 10 .89 

Examined students making no record i3>i3 

Advantage of certificated students 2 .24 

Success of certificated students, 1 878-1 880 90 .56 

Success of examined students, 1878-1880 89 .61 

Advantage of certificated students .95 

Success of certificated students, 1871-1878 88 .36 

Success of examined students, 1871-1878 86 .50 

Advantage of certificated students i .86 

1 The data in this table were copied from the report of the Faculty Committee, on file 
in the archives of the University of Michigan. 

The figures in Table XIX show that for nine years the cer- 
tificated students surpassed the examined students in the Uni- 
versity of Michigan in percentages of success in college work 
and in remaining in college long enough to have some sort of 
records. The certificated students made sixty-four hundredths 
of one per cent more exceedingly bad records than did the ex- 
amined students. It is noted in the report that only 49 diploma 
students and 56 examined students made very bad records in 
the nine years covered by the investigation. 

The data submitted from the New England colleges and from 
the University of Michigan furnish conclusive evidence that the 
judgment of teachers in the selection of students for college is 
superior to formal entrance examinations. It should be noted 
that this conclusion is not based upon mere opinion but upon 
recorded facts. 

It may be claimed that, so far, mere ability to remain in col- 
lege and to do the lowest grade of work required has formed 
the basis of the judgments given. Happily, two studies have 
been made bearing upon this point. 



Evaluations and Conclusions 145 

In 1906, Dr. E. L. Thorndike made an exhaustive examina- 
tion of the records of 253 students who entered Columbia Col- 
lege in 1901, 1902 and 1903, and who had passed the examina- 
tions of the College Entrance Examination Board :^ The re- 
cords were traced as far as they were recorded through the 
freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years. Dr. Thorn- 
dike was led to the conclusion that the grades made on entrance 
examinations indicate only to a very slight degree the grade of 
work that any student will do in college. He states : " If, 
knowing that 50 individuals ranked in the order, Jones, Smith, 
Brown, etc., in their entrance marks, one were to wager that in 
the college work of, say, junior year, they would rank Jones, 
Smith, Brown, etc., as before, he would lose his bet in 47 cases 
out of the 50."» 

The same author touches upon another vital point involved 
in the problem of admission by certificate when he says : " The 
general inadequacy of the entrance examinations from which 
the colleges suffer is not so important as their enormous indi- 
vidual inaccuracies, from which individual students suffer."^" 
In his study he found that : " Had the passing mark been set 
the least bit higher, one of the very best students of the three 
college classes would have been debarred from entrance."^^ 

Dr. W. F. Dearborn who made a study of the school and 
college grades of all of the students entering the University 
of Wisconsin from the high schools of six cities for the years 
1900-1905, inclusive, states: "A little over 80 per cent of 
those who were in the lowest or highest quarter of the group 
in high school are found in their respective halves of the group 
throughout the university. . . . We are safe in conclud- 
ing that three-fourths of the students who enter the university 
from these high schools will maintain throughout the univer- 
sity approximately the same rank which they held in high 
school."i2 

Professor Dearborn found " no evidence that the student 



^Educational Review, Vol. 31, 1906, pp. 470 et seq. 

' Ibid., p. 472. 

^'Ihid., p. 473. 

" Ihid., p. 473- 

" The Relative Standing of Pupils in the High School and in the Uni- 
versity: Bulletin of the University of Wisconsin, High School Series, 
No. 6, p. 41. 



146 Admission to College by Certificate 

who stands lowest in his class and barely gets accredited to the 
university is at all likely to lead his class in the university .^^ 

The study cited closes with the statement : " This investiga- 
tion indicates very clearly that the previous rank of pupils in 
the accredited schools furnishes a satisfactory means for fore- 
casting the likelihood of successful work at the university."^* 

The five sources given, — the annual reports of the New Eng- 
land Board, the report of the High School Examiner of Cali- 
fornia, the report of the Michigan Faculty, the study of the re- 
cords of Columbia College students and the investigation con- 
ducted at the University of Wisconsin, — all lead to the con- 
clusion that the certificating system is more reliable than the 
college entrance examination in the selection of students for 
college, whether considered from the standpoint of the welfare 
of students and the schools or from the view-point of the stan- 
dards of the higher institutions. 

The Influence of Certification Upon College Admission Re- 
quirements 

The exact amount of change in entrance requirements due 
solely to admission by certificate can not be mathematically esti- 
mated. It is possible, however, to gain some knowledge of the 
influence of the new system in the changes which have taken 
place since it was introduced, by making certain comparisons of 
previous and existing conditions. 

In 1870, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and Princeton Universities 
required certain forms and amounts of the following subjects 
for admission: Latin, Greek, Arithmetic, Algebra, Plane 
Geometry, Geography, and the elements of English. Harvard 
added to this list a little Ancient History and Physical Geo- 
graphy.^^ 

Thus three of the colleges based their entrance requirements 
entirely upon seven subjects while Harvard added two others 
making a total of nine for the last named institution. 

In 191 1, the subjects required or accepted by these same in- 
stitutions are named in Table XX. 



^* Bulletin of the University of Wisconsin, High School Series, No. 6, 
p. 42. , 

^* Ibid., p. 44. 

" E. C. Broome, A Historical and Critical Discussion of College Admis- 
sion Requirements, p. 53. 



Evaluations and Conclusions 



TABLE XX 



147 



Subjects Required or Accepted for Admission by Harvard, 
Columbia, Yale and Princeton Universities in 191 i 

Harvard^ 
English, Greek, Latin, German, French, History, Algebra, Plane 
Geometry, Solid Geometry, Trigonometry, Physics, Chemistry, 
Geography, Anatomy, Astronomy, Botany, Zoology, Drawing, 
Civil Government, Economics, Music and Manual Training. 
Total 22 

Cohimbia'^ 
English, Greek, Latin, German, French, History, Algebra, Plane 
Geometry, Solid Geometry, Trigonometry, Physics, Chemistry, 
Geography, Botany, Zoology, Drawing, Music, Italian, Spanish 
and Manual Training. Total 20 

Yale^ 
English, Greek, Latin, German, French, History, Algebra, Plane 
Geometry, Solid Geometry, Trigonometry, Physics, Chemistry 
and Civil Government. Total 13 

Princeton* 
Same as those required or accepted by Yale. Total 13 

i Harvard College Catalogue, 1911— 12, pp. 471-473. 
2 Columbia University Catalogue, 1911-12, p. 179. 

* Yale University Catalogue, 1910-11, p. 82. 

* Princeton University Catalogue, 19 11-12, pp. 76-77. 

While History has gained a place among the subjects ac- 
cepted by each of the four colleges, there is a restriction upon 
the amount that may be offered at Yale and Princeton and in 
none of the four can such an amount be offered as is taught in 
the high schools of the Middle West. All four of the col- 
leges accept Solid Geometry and Trigonometry, which are mere 
additions to the Mathematical subjects required in 1870. The 
acceptance of French, German, Physics, and Chemistry may be 
regarded as a recognition of new fields. Harvard and Columbia 
have gone much farther in the acceptance of new subjects than 
have Yale and Princeton. The addition of such subjects as 
Botany, Zoology, Drawing, Italian, Spanish, Music, and Manual 
Training indicates a certain response in sympathy with the trend 
in the lower schools. 

Turning to Table XV it will be seen that California recog- 
nizes 30 subjects for admission; Illinois, 27; Minnesota, 29; 
Wisconsin, 26; and Missouri, 29. Not only in numbers of sub- 
jects but in kinds of subjects and in the amounts credited do 
the certificating universities differ from those which admit only 



148 Admission to College by Certificate 

on examination. More of the modern languages, more of the 
sciences and more of the vocational subjects are accredited by 
the state institutions named than are recognized by Ihose insti- 
tutions admitting students largely by entrance examinations. 

The average number of subjects accepted by the four colleges 
named, admitting on entrance examination, is 17; the average 
number of subjects recognized by California, Illinois, Minne- 
sota, Missouri, Michigan, Texas and Wisconsin is about 26. 
This is twice the number accepted by Yale and Princeton, four 
more than Harvard and seven more than Columbia. 

Not only in the number of subjects credited but in the liber- 
ties given in the matter of options do the certificating institutions 
surpass the non-certificating colleges. 

The more important influences of the certificating system 
upon entrance requirements are manifested in the following 
ways: (i) in the larger number of subjects recognized; (2) 
in the greater liberty in the selection of accredited subjects 
which may be presented; (3) in the larger numbers of units al- 
lowed in history, in modern languages, and in sciences; and 
(4) in the recognition of vocational subjects. 

The Influence of Certiiication Upon Methods of Teaching 

However important may have been the changes in college 
entrance requirements in the last forty years, they do not seem 
greater than the improvements in methods of teaching. These 
improvements have appeared alike in the colleges and in the 
high schools. It is not always determinable just where the 
newer and better methods have originated; but certain it is 
that where the higher and lower institutions have been tied to- 
gether by the plan of certification a much better opportunity has 
been afforded for a quick and complete communication of any 
improvement in methods of work, originated in either the 
schools or the colleges. 

No better formulation of one of the most valuable char- 
acteristics of the new system need be given than is found in 
the second report of President Frieze, on this question, sub- 
mitted to the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan, 
July II, 1871. He then stated: "The principle of this move- 
ment is obvious: we go back to the schools, and aid their in- 



Evaluations and Conclusions 149 

structors in devising correct plans and laying solid foundations 
of scholarship; instead of waiting until pupils present them- 
selves at the University, prepared under dissimilar, and, per- 
haps, erroneous systems, often imperfectly prepared, and some- 
times rejected for deficiencies, which could have been avoided 
by this previous interchange of views between the Faculty and 
the preparatory teachers."^^ 

President Frieze knew, and those who examine the catalogues 
and announcements of institutions admitting only on examina- 
tion may know, that, usually, such colleges content themselves 
with announcements of outlines concerning their entrance re- 
quirements. They would stand at their own doors with a sort 
of measuring stick and largely disclaim responsibility for the 
methods used in the lower schools. They have been loath to 
admit that they might obtain suggestions from the schools which 
would in any great measure redound to their own benefit. 

It is not claimed that all colleges using the certificating system 
do assist the schools or are influenced by them. The conten- 
tion is that the certificating system efficiently administered must 
lead to comparison and exchange of methods. 

The specific channels through which the exchange of views 
has taken place are: high school courses of study, bulletins on 
the teaching of different subjects, suggestions for laboratory 
equipment and the selection of suitable problems, library refer- 
ences for literary subjects, correspondence between instructors 
in the colleges and teachers in the schools, and personal con- 
ferences with teachers, superintendents and school boards by 
high school visitors. 

The records of the nine universities examined show that one 
of the first steps taken after the adoption of certification was 
along the line of adjustment of high school courses of study 
and the college entrance requirements. In 1875, Michigan sug- 
gested the advisability of reviewing Algebra and Geometry in the 
senior preparatory year; in 1881, the University Faculty was 
called upon by the High School Board of Minnesota tO' assist 
in the preparation of a course for high schools ; and in 1888, a 
joint meeting of University instructors and high school super- 
visors adopted a course of study tO' be used in the high schools 



' Catalogue, University of Michigan, 1870-1871, p. 127. 



150 Admission to College by Certificate 

of Iowa, It may be safely concluded that certification has had 
much to do with adjusting courses of study in high schools to 
courses of instruction in the colleges and vice versa. 

The service rendered by the colleges to the schools has not 
been limited to counsel concerning the selection of subjects ; it 
has extended to equipment and methods. More than a score of 
state universities have issued high school manuals. These 
manuals are usually prepared by college teachers who have had 
experience in high school work; thus two standpoints are held 
in mind in the suggestions made. These manuals are more 
suggestive than prescriptive. For illustration, much larger num- 
bers of classics, laboratory exercises, units of work and subjects 
are suggested than are required for admission. The schools may 
make modifications, adaptations or substitutions. Under such 
conditions methods of teaching may be improved and based upon 
interest rather than upon an extrinsic basis or the preparation 
for the ordeal of a college entrance examination. In the benefit 
of the change colleges as well as schools have shared. Good 
teaching in colleges leads tO' better teaching in the high schools, 
and better teaching in the schools spurs to improved methods 
in the colleges ; and, where the higher and the lower parts of the 
system are united the instruction in both tends to be improved 
by the contact of one with the other. 

In recent years the method of working by conference has 
grown in popularity. The same principle may be applied be- 
tween teacher and student in the class-room, between university 
visitor and school superintendent, between committees repre- 
senting both the colleges and the schools or even in large 
assemblies where high school representatives and college instruc- 
tors are gathered together. Here the idea of authoritative 
domination does not control; but, free discussion is allowed. 
Under such conditions the search for truth becomes a coopera- 
tive undertaking. Many of the certificating institutions hold 
annual high school conferences. The conference in Illinois has 
sometimes had a thousand high school teachers in attendance. 
The meetings are held at the University of Illinois, and, probably 
no other influence in the state has done more for the elevation 
of standards and the adoption of better methods in teaching. 
But for the close contact between the schools and the University 



Evaluations and Conclusions 151 

through certification, the organization would probably not be 
in existence. 

It may be objected that the certificating system has not been 
responsible for the changes mentioned, and that the examination 
system might perform the services mentioned. No better reply 
can be made than to set forth some of the fundamental character- 
istics of the two systems. The examination system is the one 
of tradition and tends to hold to a rigid exaction of a few sub- 
jects; it would allow few liberties to the schools in the adapta- 
tion of courses of study to local conditions. The certificating 
system has not only permitted but has assisted in the broadening 
of high school courses of study. Admission by examination 
suggests distrust in the judgment and ability of high school 
teachers; admission by certificate implies confidence in the 
ability and integrity of the teachers in the lower schools. 
Because of this factor the certificating institutions will have an 
advantage in councils of high school people and will be better 
able to wield an influence upon the methods of the schools. The 
examination system has never seriously contemplated the visit- 
ation of schools ; the true certificating system by its very nature 
demands a vital touch with the schools, and this demand can 
only be met by sympathetic visitation. The examination system 
is one largely of domination ; the true certificating system is one 
of cooperation. 

Evaluations of Ten Types of Certificating Systems 
The New England College Entrance Certificate Board 

If success in doing a passing grade of college work is made 
the test, the plan of certification practiced by the New England 
colleges leads all others reported in the United States. This 
judgment is based upon the facts submitted in Tables XVII, 
XVIII, and XIX of this study. The average per cent of failures 
in New England colleges for four years was 7.1, the average 
per cent of failures in California for the same period was 12.96, 
while the failures of certificated students for seven years at 
the University of Michigan reached 11.64 per cent, and for the 
last two years reported the per cent of unsatisfactory work 
dropped to 9.44. 

The New England system throws the entire responsibility for 



152 Admission to College by Certificate 

the certificated students upon the teachers of the preparatory 
schools. This causes extraordinary caution on the part of the 
certificating teachers because of the constant danger of losing the 
certificating privilege. The system does not reach a large per 
cent of the New England high schools.^'^ E. A. Balentine, Uni- 
versity of Maine writes : " The weakest point in the entire sys- 
tem is, that some high schools that are doing a high grade of 
work, either do not apply for approval, or are not accepted by 
the Board because some of their graduates may have failed in 
college work, thus depriving really good students of the privilege 
of being admitted by certificate." ^® 

The Board does not attempt to visit schools, and whatever 
influence it exerts in the development of courses of study and 
methods of teaching is wielded purely from the standpoint of 
admission to college and not from the standpoint of the local 
development of the high schools. The system is one-sided and 
deals with the schools largely, if not wholly, on a selfish basis. 
Notwithstanding its weaknesses and a certain unpopularity with 
both schools and colleges, the system secures, on the whole, as 
shown by the data submitted in Table XVII, a class of students 
better prepared for college work than those admitted by 
examination. 

But since the system lacks the elements of school visitation, 
a willingness to have schools judged by any other standards 
than the single test of college work, and an indisposition to 
join in the development of a completed system from any other 
than the college standpoint, it does not seem probable that, in 
its present form, its services will ever be as great as those of 
some of the systems operating in other parts of the United 
States. 

Control by State Board of Education 

By a state board, as here discussed, is meant an educational 
body and not an ex-officio political organization. A good 
example of the former is found in Indiana. The Indiana Board 
is composed of the Governor, the State Superintendent of Public 

" The High Schools of New England as Judged by the Standard of the 
College Entrance Certificate Board, Walter H. Young, School Review, 
Vol. 15, p. 134. 

" Proceedings of the Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools of 
the Southern States, 1910, p. 88. 



Evaluations and Conclusions 



153 



Instruction, the President of Indiana University, the President 
of Purdue University, the President of the Indiana State Normal 
School, the superintendents of schools of the three largest cities 
of the state and three members, one of whom must be a county 
superintendent, appointed by the Governor. 

Such a board as has been designated possesses many commend- 
able features. At least eight of the eleven members are sure 
to be deeply interested in educational affairs. The Governor 
and his two unrestricted appointees may be no less interested 
in education than their associates on the board. 

This board through its several members comes in direct con- 
tact with the people on one side and the highest educational 
interests on the other. More especially through the Governor 
and the State Superintendent it may reach the legislature; 
through the city superintendents and the county superintendent, 
the lower schools are represented ; and through the college presi- 
dents, the higher institutions join in the formation of the educa- 
tional policies of the state. With a board thus constituted, in 
control, there is apt to be a minimum of friction between denomi- 
national schools and state institutions, between normal schools 
and colleges and between the higher and lower parts of the state 
system. 

The chief advantages of such control may be summarized as 
follows: (i) it is representative, (2) educational, (3) largely 
non-political, and (4) it should make for peace and cooperation 
among all of the educational interests of the state. 

The weaknesses of such a board do not seem to be in its 
constitution or organization but in its methods of administration. 
The first mistake may occur in assuming or accepting control 
over certain details of administration in the several state institu- 
tions. A second error may be made in attempting to perform 
all sorts of legislative, judicial, and executive functions through 
its own members. 

The state board of Indiana makes the rules governing the com- 
missioning of high schools, fixes the course of study, and visits 
the schools for the purpose of seeing that its own regulations 
are obeyed. These conditions have brought about almost a com- 
plete break between the high schools and the colleges so' far as 
direct inter-relation and cooperation of the faculties are con- 



154 Admission to College by Certificate 

cerned. The University makes little attempt to visit schools or 
to influence them directly in adjusting courses of study or in 
improving methods of teaching. The board stands between the 
schools and colleges, and by its methods of administration bars 
the way to direct mutual cooperation. 

The University has largely turned over the control of its en- 
trance requirements to the State Board. The Board must legis- 
late in the interest of the weak colleges as well as the strong. 
The minimum requirements of the Board tend to become the 
maximum requirements of the University for admission. As 
a result of this condition the University of Indiana can have 
little to do with the advancement of educational standards in the 
State. 

The University nominally requires sixteen units of high school 
work for admission. Eleven of the units are prescribed and 
five units are elective. " For the elective portion of the entrance 
requirements any subjects taught in a commissioned high school, 
and credited by such high school as part of the regular four- 
year course, will be accepted."^® The rule of the State Board 
concerning the qualification of teachers in commissioned high 
schools reads as follows : "At least two teachers must give all 
their time to high school work. One of the teachers in the high 
school must be a graduate of a college course that requires at 
least three full years of work beyond graduation from a com- 
missioned high school."^" It can not be said that the require- 
ment of but one college trained teacher in a commissioned high 
school assures a high standard of work. 

The University has surrendered the entire control of five 
units and has deferred the supervision of all its requirements 
to the State Board. The reply may be made that the University 
is at fault and not the Board. From the minutes of the State 
Board for May 5, 1873, we obtain the following: "Resolved, 
that the State Board of Education recommend the Trustees and 
Faculty of the Indiana University, in order to unite the high 
schools of the State and the University more closely together, 
to so modify the preparatory course of study, as to admit stu- 
dents to the Freshman class without the knowledge of Greek, 

"Catalogue, 191 1, p. 77. 

'"Uniform course of Study for the Commissioned, Certified and Ac- 
credited High Schools of Indiana, 1910-11, p. 6. 



Evaluations and Conclusions 



■SS 



putting in the place thereof an equivalent, in the increased 
amount of mathematics and science." Certainly few will find 
fault with this action of the Board, but this was merely the 
opening wedge which finally took from the University the bona 
Me control of its own entrance requirements. A step origin- 
ally intended to unite the University and the high schools has 
created a neutral ground between the higher and lower institu- 
tions over which the State Board has complete control. 

It is believed that any state board will make a mistake when 
it permits itself to become responsible for fixing a maximum 
standard for college admission requirements, and that higher 
educational institutions are in error when they surrender to any 
external authority the responsibility for the maintenance of their 
own standards of admission. 

Another mistake which it is believed may be made is also 
illustrated in the work of the Indiana State Board. 

That Board assumes entire responsibility for the inspection 
of schools. The schools of the state are divided into ten lots 
and each member, with the exception of the Governor, visits 
a certain list of schools. The first error seems to occur in as- 
suming that each of the ten members who visit schools possesses 
adequate expert knowledge to render real service to the schools. 
This statement in no way impeaches the efficiency of the mem- 
bers in their respective fields. It is not enough to be able to 
assist the weaker schools ; the best may be improved by wise 
counsel. Granted that all members are competent, they must 
sacrifice other duties if they do the work. The view is here 
taken that presidents of colleges and superintendents of large 
cities should not be called upon to do work for which experts 
are at least as well suited and leave their own fields for the 
length of time required. In 1910, there were 328 commissioned 
high schools in Indiana. To visit these schools two men would ^ 

be required to visit 32 schools each and eight men would each 
need to visit 33 schools. This would make no allowance for 
the visitation of " accredited " and " certified " high schools of 
which there were 171 in the State. Should these schools be 
visited each of the ten members of the Board would be com- 
pelled to spend at least fifty days in the field. To say that the 
Board does visit the schools will not meet the objection here 



156 Admission to College by Certificate 

raised. The question is, can they be properly spared for so 
many days from their regular work? 

Another objection to Board visitation should be mentioned. 
Ten men with different training and different interests must 
vary widely in standards, but the higher institutions have no 
way of equating the standards of schools commissioned on the 
recommendations of the different members of the Board. 

It seems fair to conclude that an ex-officio, educational, non- 
political state board may be an efficient body for the selection 
of lists of accredited high schools, but that when such board leads 
the higher institutions to gjye up the establishment and control 
of their own standards for admission, or when the Board at- 
tempts to perform all administrative functions through its own 
members, even to the visitation of schools, it places itself upon 
decidedly questionable grounds. 

The Selection of Certificating Schools by a High School Board 

A high school board as here treated differs from a state board 
of education in that the former deals with schools exclusively 
whereas the latter may have charge of the certification of teach- 
ers, the selection of text-books for the state or similar duties. 
The type of board here considered is found in Minnesota. 

The Minnesota State High School Board is composed of " the 
state superintendent, the president of the state university, and 
the president of the board of normal school directors, ex-officto, 
and the superintendent or principal of a high school, and one 
other person appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the 
Senate. . . . ."^^ This Board with the exception of the 
President of the State University is appointed by the Governor 
and approved by the Senate. The different members are not 
necessarily appointed at the same time. It should be noted that 
the State Superintendent as well as the directors of the state 
normal schools are appointed by the Governor. 

It may be said that the Board is representative in so far as 
different grades of educational institutions are concerned. It is 
educational since at least three of its five members must be ac- 
tively engaged in educational work; it will be political or non- 

." School Laws of Minnesota, 1907, p. 106. 



Evaluations and Conclusions 157 

political in accordance with the wishes of the Governor and the 
Senate. While principles of organization and administration are 
the only proper subjects for treatment in this study, it may be 
noted that the Minnesota High School Board enjoys the confi- 
dence of the people notwithstanding the opportunity given to the 
Governor of the State to make political spoils of its member- 
ship. 

The Board employs three expert inspectors of schools. One 
gives his entire time to high schools, one looks after the graded 
schools, and the third divides his time between the two fields. 
These inspectors work directly under the supervision of the 
Board and have no direct connection with either the state de- 
partment or the state university. As stated in a former chapter, 
an extensive system of examinations is conducted under the 
auspices of the Board. 

There is no doubt but that the Minnesota Board has ren- 
dered an inestimable service to the State. This fact, however, 
does not win for it an unqualified endorsement. One criticism 
made upon the Indiana system was that the members of the 
Board attempt to do all school visitation. The same objection 
can not be made to the administration of the Board in Minne- 
sota, since it employs special inspectors. These inspectors put 
in all their time in the schools and have little direct touch with 
college and university faculties. 

The High School Board distributes large annual sums to 
approved state high schools. Its regulations in most instances 
are worthy of the highest commendation. But under the heavy 
pressure brought by local communities, the Board is forced to 
make measurable physical standards, to a considerable extent, 
the basis of classification. Inspectors are compelled to give 
much of their attention to the physical side of the schools. As 
a result the records of the University of Minnesota for the last 
ten years or more show considerable dissatisfaction with the 
preparation of applicants for admission. At present, graduates 
of high schools are divided into three classes and only the two 
highest classes are admitted to the University on certificate. 
There is a certain separation between the schools and the uni- 



158 Admission to College by Certificate 

versity which should not exist. The vital touch between high 
school teachers and university instructors is lacking. 

All of the organization necessary to the highest degree of 
efficiency is present. It is believed that if the High School 
Board and the University would join their forces along the lines 
of establishing in the schools the best teaching methods, and 
measure the schools somewhat more by scholastic standards, a 
greater service might be rendered to the educational interests of 
the State. 

Control of Certification Through State Associations of Colleges 

If state boards of education and state high school boards 
turn their attention more to the schools than to the colleges, 
the reverse is true in the case of college associations. Such 
associations do strive to assist the schools but in a somewhat 
indirect way. They induce weaker colleges to raise entrance 
requirements and thus leave pupils in the high schools for a 
longer period of time. Some standardization is achieved through 
announcements of uniform state accrediting systems. In some 
states, a serious attempt is made by the associations to visit 
schools ; in other states, this work is not undertaken at all. 

Some of the weaknesses of this system are lack of funds 
for visiting schools and issuing publications, a tendency to re- 
gard weak and strong colleges with equal favor and thus hold 
down the higher standards as well as pull up the lower ones, 
and a disposition to surrender the individuality of institutions. 
A disadvantage is also encountered from the standpoint of deal- 
ing with the schools when public and private institutions are 
associated together. Private colleges often support preparatory 
schools; and should these fail to receive approval of the en- 
tire association the colleges are likely to become embarrassed. 

It would seem that college associations may find their greatest 
field for service in the development of standards in the higher 
institutions. They may also render a valuable indirect service 
to the schools. They may not be expected, however, composed 
as they must be of both privately and publicly supported institu- 
tions, to deal with the highest development of state school sys- 
tems in the most efficient manner. 



Evaluations and Conclusions 159 

The Selection of Certificating Schools Through State Univer- 
sities 

The state university, in common with the other certificating 
systems, possesses both advantages and disadvantages. The dis- 
advantages will first be considered. 

If the state university possesses lower standards than other 
institutions in the state, it will be criticized as unworthy of the 
trust of selecting the accredited list of schools for the state; 
if it does maintain correct standards, it may be criticized by 
competitive institutions, and the schools may be incited to com- 
plain because of a pretended undue rigidity. In some states nor- 
mal schools, in others denominational colleges and in still others 
state departments have bitterly opposed the visitation of schools 
by state universities. In some cases the opposition has been 
based upon legitimate grounds and in others upon selfish in- 
terests. The opposition, so far as it has been patriotic, has 
arisen because of a clearly manifested selfish interest in the 
schools, a disposition to be unduly dominating, or a clear lack of 
efficiency in dealing with the schools. The lack of efficiency 
may be due to want of sympathy for the school standpoint mani- 
fested in a refusal to assist the schools in caring for local in- 
terests ; it may be due to ignorance ; or it may be traced to the 
absence of a disposition on the part of the universities to spend 
sufficient funds and use enough men to do the work. 

It is confidently believed that not a single state university 
in the United States has met all needs in dealing with the 
schools. For this reason, state departments and other colleges 
have come to employ inspectors. The claim that universities 
have not had sufficient funds is not always valid. It is believed 
that a little more money spent in behalf of the schools would 
bring greater funds to the support of the universities. 

The greatest weaknesses in the selection of lists of accredited 
schools by state universities may be summarized as follows : ( i ) 
failure to maintain standards; (2) danger of arousing the op- 
position of normal schools, other colleges and state departments ; 
(3) a disposition to use visitation as a means of securing stu- 
dents rather than as an opportunity to serve the schools ; (4) an 
undue tendency to dominate high school conditions; and (5) 
down-right lack of efficiency due to the selection of visitors or 



i6o Admission to College by Certificate 

inspectors or due to failure to provide means and men to meet 
the reasonable needs of the work. 

The advantages of state university selection may now be men- 
tioned. 

In the first place the state university is placed by the whole 
people at the head of publicly supported institutions. The mem- 
bers of its faculty are, or should be, the educational leaders of 
the state in their respective fields. The university is supported 
by the people of the state as are the lower schools. The funds 
appropriated may be used in the betterment of the entire school 
system. The state university and the public schools are intended 
to serve no particular class, creed or sect, but the entire people. 
Here is a complete community of object and interest. 

Some of the more fundamental reasons for a classification 
of schools, on the purely educational side, by state universities 
may be recapitulated under the following headings : ( i ) the 
university, on the scholarship side, stands at the head of the 
state system; (2) the support of the higher and lower parts of 
the system comes from the same source; (3) the work of the 
university is a continuation of the work of the lower schools, 
and in order that both parts of the state system may function 
properly there should be a constant exchange of views and 
methods; and (4) no external authority should be inserted be- 
tween the two parts of the system either by bottling up the ser- 
vices of the university within walls or limiting its control of 
standards of entrance requirements, or through permitting jeal- 
ousies and ambitions of other institutions to weaken the entire 
state system by breaking the vital connection between its parts. 

Control of Certification Through State Departments 

Within the last few years efforts have been made in several 
states to place the visitation and classification of high schools 
entirely with state departments of education. The movement 
may be traced to different causes. In certain states, legislatures 
have provided funds for the subsidization of schools. These 
funds are distributed to schools meeting certain minimum 
standards. The determination of standards has been assigned 
in some cases to state departments. In order for the depart- 



Evaluations and Conclusions i6i 

ments to make the tests required it is necessary to employ 
inspectors of schools. 

Once clothed with the duty of school visitation, the depart- 
ments have become ambitious to control all high school standards, 
and in some states have sought to have such legislation enacted 
as would not only give them power over schools but also 
such as would prevent state universities from having anything 
to do with the work of the schools. 

School laws usually clothe the state superintendent with the 
full responsibility for the administration of all public Schools. 
Under the laws the superintendents are at liberty to undertake 
any work that may contribute to educational development; and, 
feeling the need of closer supervision, they turn to school inspec- 
tion and classification. 

In some cases the low standards of universities or jealousies 
of other colleges have caused the inspection of schools to be 
placed with state departments. Whatever may be the different 
causes there is little doubt that there is at present a strong 
tendency in some parts of the United States to locate thd inspec- 
tion and classification of high schools with the state departments. 
This means practically the selection of schools which may certifi- 
cate students to the state universities. 

The advantages of control of certification through state depart- 
ments seem to consist in a prevention of friction likely to rise 
among various educational institutions, in an opportunity to com- 
pel the establishment of certain minimum standards, and in a 
general expansion of the influence of the state departments. 

The disadvantages of state department control of certifica- 
tion do not have their foundation in an exercise of the depart- 
ment's legitimate functions but in an effort to go beyond its 
inherent ability to render service. The state department, on 
the purely educational side, is not above the state university; 
the composition of its office forces is inferior to that of the 
university faculty considered from the standpoint of training 
and intellectual ability. Since state departments are not above 
universities intellectually, they should not attempt to dominate 
their standards. When the departments insert themselves 
between the high schools and the universities they break the con- 
nection between the lower and higher parts of the state system. 



1 62 Admission to College by Certificate 

They may very properly inspect the physical side of all educa- 
tional institutions, they may enforce the legal minimum standards, 
they may properly inspect schools and use all of the power 
at their command to better educational conditions in every way, 
but when they refuse to permit the universities to control their 
own entrance requirements and to assist in the upbuilding of 
the entire system they clearly forbid that which they are not 
able to do themselves. 

State departments are more subject to political changes than 
are the standards of universities. Many educational needs arise 
which must be met by legislatures. State departments are 
usually the channels through which school laws are urged. They 
are not so strong in dealing with individual local schools as is 
an institution further removed from the vicissitudes of immediate 
political favor. Office forces usually change with the state 
superintendents and a continuous policy in dealing with the high 
schools is almost impossible. 

When schools meet the minimum legal requirements admin- 
istered by the state departments they are inclined to feel that 
they need do no more. When the higher institution is working 
with the schools there is a continuous pull toward higher and 
higher standards. When the state departments cut off the con- 
nection between the two parts of the system they are likely to 
substitute a fixed minimum legal standard for an ever-increas- 
ing maximum standard. 

There is every reason why state departments should visit 
schools, enforce minimum standards and go as far beyond as 
possible. They may accomplish much for the physical side of 
the schools, and should not be restrained from doing their utmost 
for the intellectual side. But it should not be overlooked that 
they are prescribed by limitations. When they attempt to per- 
form services for which they are not prepared, and when they 
force legal enactments which separate two closely related parts 
of the state system, when they refuse to permit the lower and 
higher institutions to work together, they not only arrogate to 
themselves duties they are not able tO' perform but prevent other 
agents from rendering this legitimate service to those who sup- 
port them. 



Evaluations and Conclusions 163 

Joint Control of Certification Through State Universities and 
State Departments 

The control of school visitation and high school classification 
may be shared by state universities and state departments in 
the following ways: (i) the professor of secondary education 
in the university may visit schools under the auspices of the 
state department, as in West Virginia, Arkansas, Florida, etc; 
(2) the university and the state department may employ their 
own inspectors who exchange reports and cooperate in their 
work, as in several states in the West; and (3) the state 
department may limit its work more to the smaller schools and 
the university may look after those schools which with proper 
assistance may prepare students for higher work. 

The first method is strong on the side of foundation and 
original organization of new schools, but it is weak in the work 
of development of the better schools already in operation. The 
inspector is not usually in close touch with a higher teaching 
body from week to week and consequently must base his work 
almost entirely upon his own personal standards. His time is 
largely occupied with non-scholastic or elementary- scholastic 
work and he soon becomes unfit to inspect a large system of 
schools and render expert assistance. The work he performs 
is invaluable to the state but does not contribute so much to 
the improvement of higher standards in the better high schools. 

Unfortunately the double system of inspection does not seem 
to work satisfactorily. Either the two sets of inspectors work 
independently and, to a certain extent, go over the same ground, 
or when they attempt to work together in an effective manner 
there is a constant danger of friction. The university inspec- 
tors are likely to be more rigid than the state inspectors. The 
department inspectors are apt to be more subjected to the require- 
ments of popular favor. They are subject to changes in the 
political fortunes or misfortunes of the state superintendent, and 
usually do not enjoy the same support in exacting a high 
standard of work as do university inspectors. 

In a few states the state departments confine their work of 
inspection and classification more to the weaker schools and 
leave the stronger ones to university guidance. This plan brings 



164 Admission to College by Certificate 

best results. The constitution, organization, and methods of 
work of the state departments are better adapted to the founda- 
tion and original organization of schools than to their highest 
scholastic development. By the very nature of the state depart- 
ment it can accomplish more for the physical side than for the 
purely intellectual side. The university, on the other hand, must 
render its service along the lines of refinement of intellectual 
standards. It can render a service not within the power of the 
state department. And for the state department to attempt to 
deprive the state of one of the most valuable services that the 
university may perform, either by forbidding that service, or by 
failing to insist upon its rendition, seems, to say the least, un- 
patriotic. 

Special Methods of Control by Individual Institutions 

In an earlier chapter may be found outlines of the plans used 
by Harvard, Columbia, and Vanderbilt universities and the Uni- 
versity of Chicago. All of these methods hold in view the wel- 
fare of the colleges rather than the specific development of high 
schools. This study is made from the standpoint of the develop- 
ment of a complete educational system. It is claimed that in 
order to achieve this end there must be a constant vital con- 
nection between the two parts of the system. 

The Harvard and Vanderbilt plans do not contemplate any 
systematic visitation of schools. They do accept and weigh cer- 
tain reports made by school officials. They do not measure up to 
the standards of a pure certificating system, but they represent 
a distinct step away from the old fixed form of examinations. 
The advantages and disadvantages of the Vanderbilt plan are 
practically the same as those discussed under the New England 
College Entrance Certificate Board. The Harvard plan simply 
provides for absolute freedom to schools in all but four subjects 
without attempting in any way to direct or influence the school 
work. 

The Columbia plan contemplates some visitation but with the 
purpose of ascertaining school conditions, without attempting to 
render any particular service to the schools. The advantages 
of the Columbia plan are enjoyed by individual students rather 
than by schools. 



Evaluations and Conclusions 165 

The University of Chicago for years visited schools and ren- 
dered much valuable service in the better adjustment of courses 
of study and in the improvement of methods of teaching. The 
new plan does not involve school visitation, but expects teachers 
to leave their schools and visit the University of Chicago for 
advice and inspiration. Even though the University should pay 
the traveling expenses of visiting teachers, the conditions in 
Chicago class-rooms and the general environment will be so 
different that teachers will be apt to find the results of their 
visits will pertain more to ideas relating to Chicago and the 
University than to conditions in their own schools. The prob- 
abilities are that the University of Chicago will profit far more 
by the new plan than the high schools from which it will draw 
its students. 

The advantages of the special systems described seem to relate 
to the higher institutions rather than to pertain to any well 
defined plans for the development of closely co-ordinated school 
systems. 

Control Through District Commissions 

District Commissions may assist in standardizing state systems. 
They deal with the best schools and furnish a goal toward which 
the better schools may strive. They are based upon the state 
systems and possess no principles not already discussed. Educa- 
tional leaders in the Middle West are practically unanimous in 
the opinion that the Commission of the North Central States 
has performed a distinct service for the schools and colleges, — 
for the schools, by inspiring them to standards of efficiency, and 
for the colleges, by giving to them a large list of the best schools 
which is an advantage in administering the admission of students 
from other states. 

A National System Suggested 

Almost all colleges and universities arc coming to admit 
students on certificate, from other states, who have graduated 
from high schools accredited by their own state universities. 
This practice often leads to mistakes. So widely different are 
the standards in different states that affiliation with state uni- 
versities may mean little or much according to the require- 
ments of the several institutions. 



i66 Admission to College by Certificate 

A commission working under the National Association of State 
Universities could, in fact, solve the problem. The commission 
could be organized upon the plans in use by the district associa- 
tions. Only the better schools in the different states would be 
accredited. Such a commission could suggest such standards 
as would make membership a desirable asset to the most efficient 
high schools. This would be an additional step toward a nation- 
alization of high school standards. 

Final Conclusions 

I. The general plan of admission to college by certificate is 
not a product of chance device; it is the result of a distinct 
need for uniting the preparatory schools and colleges into one 
closely connected system. This need does not pertain to one part 
of the system more than to the other. The schools need the 
assistance of the colleges in the acquisition of better methods 
and standards; the colleges need the knowledge of the schools 
with reference to their prospective students. 

II. For forty years various boards, state universities, state 
departments, and independent colleges have been developing 
different types, principles and methods of admission to college 
by certificate. 

III. Some system of certification is now used to some extent 
and in some form in every statei of the Union, and in all higher 
institutions of learning with the exception of less than a half 
dozen independent colleges along the Atlantic Coast. 

IV. The various systems in the United States may be classi- 
fied under certain well-defined types. The two fundamental 
principles upon which the systems may be classified are the loca- 
tion of control for the visitation and selection of accredited 
schools. 

V. The various types of control have evolved systems vary- 
ing widely when considered from the standpoint of the highest 
efficiency. 

VI. While the different systems possess some elements of 
efficiency, all of them are burdened with more or less grave de- 
fects. Some are weak because of legal enactments, some be- 
cause of insufficient funds, some break down because of lack 
of effective school visitation, and still others are weak because 



Evaluations and Conclusions 167 

of their forms of organization. Some of the systems are con- 
ducted by colleges for purely selfish reasons and only indirectly 
and indifferently render service to the schools. This may be 
true of state as well as of independent institutions. 

VII. Notwithstanding the weaknesses inherent in the pre- 
vailing systems, the reports of the New England College En- 
trance Certificate Board and the investigations concerning the 
records of students admitted by certificate and examination in 
different universities show the superiority of the certificating 
system over the method of admission to college by examina- 
tion. 

VIII. The following fundamental principles underlie all effi- 
cient systems : 

1. The source of control must be competent, efficient, 
and beyond the reach of other than patriotic and educa- 
tional influences. 

2. The system must be sufficiently com.plex and detailed 
to test and to assist the schools, and to furnish to the col- 
leges complete information concerning the records, abilities 
and personalities of prospective students. 

3. The work must be done with reference to the wel- 
fare of all concerned ; that is, it must consider the interests 
of schools as well as of colleges, and the good of those who 
will not go to colleges as well as of those who will study 
in the higher institutions. 

4. No external authority, such as statute, state depart- 
ment, or state board should be allowed to come between the 
school and the college. The two teaching bodies should 
come together in vital and reciprocal contact. 

5. The connection between high school work and college 
classes is not mechanical. It can not be made by state laws ; 
it must be adjusted by the intelligent cooperation of high 
school teachers and college instructors. Unless the connec- 
tion is made in this way, admission to college by certificate 
becomes a farce, and like broken bones improperly set for- 
ever leads to maladjustment between the two parts which 
should logically fit into each other. 

IX. In view of the existence of various types of certificat- 
ing systems possessing different grades of efficiency, it seems 



i68 Admission to College by Certificate 

improbable that any one type will soon supplant all others. The 
immediate problem is a matter of better organization, better 
adaptation and further development of prevailing systems. 

X. In some states the services of the higher institutions are 
not utilized. Where such conditions exist a fatal defect in 
the system of certification may be found. In all states where 
state boards or state departments are in control, a just and 
proper service should be rendered to the schools and colleges 
by not merely permitting but by inviting the cooperation of all 
state colleges in the work of high school development and high 
school classification. 

XL A study of various types of systems in use in the United 
States leads to the belief that in different states the following 
methods of control may be made efficient : 

1. In states where the state universities maintain high 
standards and have worked with the schools for years and 
enjoy the confidence and support of the people, the schools 
and other institutions of learning, the work of visitation 
and classification of schools may be conducted with best 
results under the auspices of such state universities. 

2. A successful and advantageous control may be 
shared by state universities and state departments of educa- 
tion. Under this joint control, the state departments should 
give especial attention to the physical side of the schools, 
to the provision for the foundation and organization of 
different types of high schools, to the enforcement of mini- 
mum legal requirements and to the visitation and inspection 
mainly of the smaller schools, while the higher and more 
refined scholastic standards of the stronger schools should 
be looked after by the universities. 

3. High school or state boards may safely be entrusted 
with the general administration of certification only when 
the universities are called upon to assist in the maintenance 
of standards. When boards undertake to carry on the 
entire work of inspection and classification without the co- 
operation of educational experts in all lines of high school 
work their own standards become mechanical and turn to 
the physical side, rather than to measures of real educa- 
tional achievement. High school or state boards work- 



Evaluations and Conclusions 169 

ing in conjunction with college representatives may advan- 
tageously control the visitation and classification of schools 
and provide successful systems of certification. 

4. In addition to the three forms of state systems sug- 
gested, district systems may be exceedingly helpful in toning 
up the systems of different states and in giving to the best 
schools a higher goal than mere state recognition. Such 
systems also furnish to universities and colleges an oppor- 
tunity to protect themselves against the low standards pre- 
vailing in other states. 

5. A commission working under the auspices of the 
National Association of State Universities could render a 
service to the entire United States similar to that performed 
by district commissions. 

XII. No system of certification which does not regard the 
welfare of the schools and colleges alike and which does not 
bring them together in intimate cooperation for the upbuilding 
of the entire school system will meet the demands which gave 
rise to the fundamental idea of admission to college by cer- 
tificate. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY^ 

A Historical and Critical Discussion of College Admission Requirements. 
E. C. Broome. (Macmillan.) 

Annual Reports of the New England College Entrance Certificate Board. 

Annual Reports of the Inspector of High Schools of Minnesota. 

Biennial Reports of the President of the University of CaHfornia, 1906- 
1908 and 1908- 1910. 

Bulletin of the Association of Alabama Colleges for 1911. 

Catalogues of the Universities of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Mis- 
souri, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Texas from 1870, or the 
dates of their first publication, to 191 1. 

Catalogues of all State Universities for 1910-1911. 

Catalogues of Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Chicago Universi- 
ties for 1910-1911. 

Educational Review, Volume 38, 1909. 

Fourth Annual Report of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement 
of Teaching. 

French Secondary Schools. F. E. Farrington. (Longmans.) 

German Education, Past and Present. Frederick Paulsen. Translation 
by Lorentz. 

History of the University of Michigan. Elizabeth M. Farrand. 

Minutes of the Minnesota State High School Board. 

Minutes of the Indiana State Board of Education. 

Minutes of the Boards of Regents of the Universities of Indiana, Illinois, 
Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Texas, 
from 1870, or the dates of their organization, to 191 1. 

Minutes of the Faculties of the Universities of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, 
Minnesota, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Texas, from 
1870, or the dates of their organization, to 1911. 

Proceedings of the Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools of 
the Southern States for 1910. 

Proceedings of the National Educational Association, Volumes i, 3 and 4. 

Proceedings of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary 
Schools for 1896 and 1901. 

Report of the United States Commissioner of Education, 1870-1871, Vol- 
ume 2. 

Report of the Commission on Accredited Schools and Colleges of the 
North Central Association for 1910. 

School Laws of the different states. 



^ For a Bibliography of the general literature bearing upon the problem, 
see Proceedings of the Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools 
of the Southern States, for 1910, pp. 78-81. 

170 



Bibliography 171 

The Future of the College Entrance Examination Board. E. L. Thorn- 
dike. Educational Review, Volume 31, 1906. 

The Educational Systems of Great Britain and Ireland. Graham Balfour. 

The Relative Standing of Pupils in the High School and in the Univer- 
sity. W. F. Dearborn. Bulletin of the University of Wisconsin, 
High School Series, No. 6. 

The High Schools of New England as Judged by the Standard of the 
College Entrance Certificate Board. Walter H. Young. School 
Review, Volume 15. 

The University of Chicago Magazine, July, 191 1. 



VITA 

Joseph Lindsey Henderson — Born in Monongalia County, 
West Virginia, in 1869. Entered the Preparatory Department 
of the West Virginia University in 1888, and graduated from 
the University with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1894. 

Grade teacher in the public schools of Tyler, Texas, 1894- 
1895; grammar school principal, ibid., 1895-1898; high school 
principal, ibid., 1898-1899; superintendent of schools, ibid., 1899- 
1905. 

Graduate student at Teachers College, Columbia University, 
1905-1906. 

Associate Professor of Education and Visitor of Schools, 
University of Texas, 1906-1909; Associate Professor of Secon- 
dary Education and Visitor of Schools, 1909-1912; Professor of 
Secondary Education and Visitor of Schools, 1912. 

Graduate student at Teachers College, Columbia University, 
1911-1912. 



172 



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